


Part 1: The Beginning

by WayfinderGal



Series: Hearts of Light and Darkness [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Cliffhangers, Comedy, Drama, F/F, F/M, Game: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Spoilers, Kingdom Hearts References, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Not Canon Compliant - Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23218162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayfinderGal/pseuds/WayfinderGal
Summary: The day of the Mark of Mastery was upon Aqua, Terra, and Stellae, and Akari, Kira, and Ventus couldn’t be happier. But who would have thought that Terra would fall short of the Mark? And who would have expected the start of a chase amongst friends? Traveling across worlds and meeting friends both old and new, will the six friends ever coincide in their travels?
Relationships: Aqua (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Aqua (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Terra (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Terra (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Male Character(s), Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Hearts of Light and Darkness [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669273
Kudos: 3





	1. Six Friends, One Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! The name's WayfinderGal and I'm super happy that you came across my first fanfic!
> 
> I've decided to write this series to give a bit more happiness to the Wayfinder Trio (and Vanitas, of course), but before that happiness happens... How about some drama? :D
> 
> Anyhow, I'll aim to update as frequently as possible. And as you may have noticed, this is just Part 1 of the series! There will be more parts to come, so don't fret about those pesky cliff hangers that I may leave along the way:)
> 
> Happy reading! And may your heart be your guiding key<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**3rd Person POV**

Ventus woke up at the right time. Despite the sleepy expression on his face, when he saw what was happening outside his bedroom window, he showed great excitement.

"A meteor shower!" Ventus said as he placed both hands against the glass of his bedside window.

The blonde jumped out of the bed and dashed over to Akari's room. The door was open, showing a girl with long, brown hair and green eyes. She was laying down on her bed, making magical orbs with her right hand. Ventus stopped abruptly at the frame of the girl's door. "Akari! There's a meteor shower outside!"

The emerald-eyed girl looked at her friend, looked out her window, and then at her friend again, with a similar expression on her face.

"Awesome! Hold on, let's get Kira, too," Akari said, getting off her bed and running towards Kira's room next door.

The door to the other girl's room was open as well, and it showed a girl with medium-length, dark auburn hair and hazel eyes. She was watering one of her plants with her water magic.

"Sis! There's a meteor shower!"

Kira showed the exact same expression that Ventus and Akari had when they found out about the event: excitement. "Coming guys!"

She finished watering the orchid she was taking care of and dashed with the blonde and brunette towards the fields.

* * *

When the three reached the plateau before the cliff , they noticed a girl with black hair and gray eyes sitting on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the stars as the wind gently moved her ponytail back. She seemed a bit older than Akari and Kira.

“Stellae!” Akari said with excitement. “Admiring the stars?”

Stellae just chuckled. She loved looking at the stars, especially when there is a meteor shower. “Can’t ignore a nice meteor shower. The stars are very talkative when this happens.”

“And you don’t tell us beforehand?” Kira teased.

“Knowing you, you must have been too excited and just dashed out here without even telling us,” Ventus said jokingly.

“Guilty as charged,” Stellae calmly said, glancing at them for a second before turning her attention to the meteor shower again.

Stellae could talk to the stars and receive answers from them, which she thought was a useful skill to have. She has had this ability since birth, but she didn’t know how to use it at first. Luckily Master Yen Sid, who had learned this ability through another master, taught her how to use it efficiently.

The three latecomers sat down and looked at the meteors fall.

"Wow," said the three in unison.

Ventus lied down with his hands serving as a pillow, while the girls kept their legs hanging from the cliff.

The boy contemplated the sky. "Why does this seem so familiar?"

"I don't know," Akari said, facing him. "Maybe you saw it in a dream?"

"Maybe," Ventus said, looking back at her.

"Or maybe you've seen meteor showers when you were little?" Kira asked.

"Probably, but I don't really know," Ventus replied, glancing over at Kira and then directing his attention back to the sky. "Just can't remember.”

“Maybe the stars are actually speaking to you, Ven,” Stellae teased.

Ventus chuckled, looking over to Stellae and then looking up at the sky again. “Okay, now that is less likely.”

After some time Ventus fell asleep, leaving Akari, Kira, and Stellae looking at the shower. After a while, the three girls heard the sound of rustling grass behind them. Looking back, they saw Aqua walking towards them. Once Aqua reached them, they smiled at each other.

Then the four of them got an idea. Akari, Kira, and Stellae stood up and walked over to Aqua.

Suddenly Ventus started to wake up, not noticing Aqua yet. He sat up for a few seconds and yawned. Lying back down, he did not expect to see Akira, Aqua, Kira, and Stellae’s faces hovering over him. 

“Whoa!” Ventus exclaimed in surprise as he sat up. The four girls bursted into laughter.

"Give me a break guys," Ventus got up on his knees and said, laughing a bit as well.

"Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead. You know you should have at least brought a blanket," Aqua said in a calm voice.

“But— Did I dream that place up? It really felt like I'd been there before… looking up at the stars...," Ventus said before feeling Aqua's hand petting him.

The four girls just giggled.

" 'Cept you've always lived here with us," Aqua said.

"Yeah… I know," Ventus said, looking at the four girls with a smile.

The four of them walked over to the edge of the cliff and sat down next to Ventus, hanging their legs from the cliff.

"Hey, Aqua," Ventus asked his blue-haired friend.

"Hm?"

"Y’ever wonder what stars are? Where light comes from?"

Aqua started to think a bit. " Hmm… Well, they say—"

"That every star up there is another world."

"Huh?" The group looked back, only to see Terra.

"Terra," Aqua greeted.

The brunette continued. "Yep, hard to believe that there are so many worlds out there besides our own. The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Stellae said, looking at Terra, who was laughing at her comment.

"What?" Ventus said, confused. "I don't get it."

Terra explained. "In other words, they're just like you, Ven."

Ventus rapidly got up and walked towards Terra. "What does THAT mean?"

"You'll find out someday, I'm sure," Terra continued.

"I wanna know now,” Ven complained.

"You're too young to know now," Terra argued.

"Quit treating me like a kid.”

The quarrel was interrupted by Aqua's laughter.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" Terra asked, intrigued.

"I can't help it," Aqua continued laughing. "You two would make the weirdest brothers."

"Huh?" Both Terra and Ventus said, completely confused.

“I mean, she’s not wrong,” Stellae continued. “I believe the term “step-brothers” would suit you two better, considering neither of you being related to each other whatsoever.”

“Like I asked, know-it-all,” Ventus said with a laugh.

“The sass is strong with this one…” Kira said as she looked at the sky.

“You sure you’re not talking about yourself, Kira?” Akari teasingly asked.

“Haha very funny,” Kira answered, rolling her eyes with a smile.

“Well in all honesty, Ven can technically beat Kira in a sass-off any day of the week,” Stellae said. “Though in the right circumstances and once in a blue moon, then I guess Kira can beat him.”

“Hey!” Kira said, glaring at Stellae.

“Stellae,” Aqua said, tilting her head to the side.

“I’m kidding...” Stellae said with a laugh. “But now that I think about it… Maybe this isn’t too far fetched… If you consider Ven winning during an actual full moon.”

“Now what’s up with you changing my chances?” Ven asked in a playful manner.

“If you think about it Ven, she’s just highlighting the fact that you’re like a star when the moon shines blue,” Terra said.

“Really this again?” Ven laughed, before the rest followed with him.

Terra and Ventus sat down next to the four of them. After a while, Aqua stood up in realization.

"Oh yeah. Terra, Stellae, the three of us have our Mark of Mastery exams tomorrow," Aqua said before reaching into her pockets and pulling out six star-shaped charms. “I made us good luck charms.”

Terra and Stellae stood up. Ventus and the sisters stood up after him.

The mage then threw an orange charm to Terra and a purple one to Stellae. Ventus, Akari, and Kira looked at it with awe.

"Here!" Aqua said, and threw a green charm to Ventus, a magenta charm to Akari, and a yellow charm to Kira. The sisters noticed that the charm matched well with their outfits. Akari was wearing a dark magenta halter turtleneck and a gray ribbon that was tied across her chest, the heart-like apprentice symbol at the center. Kira and Stellae had a similar clothing scheme than Akari. While Kira had red and yellow for her halter turtleneck and ribbon colors, respectively, Stellae had purple and silver instead.

"We get one, too?" Ventus asked happily.

"Of course," Aqua assured. "One for each of us."

The six of them held their charms in a circle. Orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, magenta… They just needed red and turquoise wayfinders to form a rainbow.

"Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit… and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection,” Aqua said, turning her back towards the group and walking a few steps away from them. Pausing in her tracks, she looked at her blue charm. “So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to each other.”

She then turned to them. “Technically, I think you're supposed to make them with seashells, but I did the best with what I had.”

"Oy, sometimes you are such a girl," Terra said jokingly.

"Hey, what do you mean "sometimes"?"

"So this isn't a real good luck charm?" Ventus asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Well," Aqua responded, "that's yet to be seen. But I did work a little magic on it."

"Really? What?" Ventus asked once more.

Aqua held her charm up with a smile. "An unbreakable connection.”

* * *

"Well, tomorrow's the exam. Anybody wanna spar?" Terra challenged.

"I can take ya!" Ventus exclaimed, jumping in with keyblade in hand.

Akari giggled at her eager friend. Kira noticed a slight shade of pink grew on her sister’s cheeks.

Both Terra and Ventus held their stances: Terra held his Earthshaker Keyblade downwards, looking confident and strong, and Ventus was twirling his Wayward Wind Keyblade in circles, showing complete control over the blade. Ventus ran to Terra and used his keyblade to land a combo of attacks, but Terra, being slightly faster than him, managed to block each attack without breaking a sweat.

"Quit goin’ easy on me. You're not gonna win unless you stay on the offensive!" Ventus insisted.

The battle continued, both keyblade wielders clashing their blades whether to attack or to parry. The two sparred for a while before Aqua and Stellae walked over to them.

"Well, that works fine if you're fighting one on one," Aqua clarified.

"But you need to know how to handle a crowd, too," Stellae added.

Aqua used her Rainfell Keyblade to summon magical orbs while Stellae ran over to land a close-ranged attack with her Aubade Keyblade. Once Stellae was just steps away from Terra and Ventus, Aqua hurled the magic orbs towards the two boys. Terra blocked both the magic orbs coming his way and Stellae’s strike, and Ventus was able to swiftly dodge the orbs with a jump.

"Hey! Can we join in the fun, too?" Akari asked with a smile. 

"Yeah! Give us a shot, guys," Kira added.

"Alright! Akari, go with Ven. Stellae, go with Terra. Kira, you fight with me," Aqua said.

"Sounds good," Kira said. She knew that both Akari and Aqua were excellent mages. And when it comes to the offensive, Kira and Terra were the specialists. Stellae and Ventus were good at keeping the balance of both magic and close combat. So it was fair to see the different tactics battle each other. Kira knew that she had the same magic capacity as her sister. However, she needed to work harder at it. Akari has always felt magic as something natural. Kira hasn't felt that naturalness yet.

Ventus started sparring with Akari, trying to attack her with his quick offense. Akari nimbly dodged every attack while trying to attack Ventus with her True Light’s Flight Keyblade both offensively and magically.

Aqua attacked Kira with her magic orbs, and seconds later Kira attacked them with her Twilight Blaze Keyblade, causing the orbs to fly like baseballs.

Stellae used light orbs against Terra. However, every ball that he hit would send the orb flying. She then decided to dash over to Terra, swinging her keyblade towards him. Noticing this action, Terra blocked her attack. Stellae jumped back and decided to launch more light orbs before clashing keyblades with him again.

Ventus was about to hit Akari with his keyblade but she disappeared for a second. Confused, Ventus looked left and right, not being able to spot her. “Huh? Where did she **—**?”

Just then, orbs of light hit the ground in front of him. With wide eyes, he turned around, only to dodge the multitude of orbs that Akari was quickly throwing his way. After five raids of these orbs, Ventus began to slow down, causing Akari to stop summoning orbs. Ventus dismissed his keyblade and placed his hands on his knees while trying to recover his breath. “N-new move?”

Akari walked towards him, dismissing her keyblade. “You could tell?”

“Well **—** ” Ventus was about to say, before hearing a yelping Kira.

Both of them turned to where Aqua and Kira and Aqua were fighting, only to see Kira sitting on the floor and rubbing one of her sides. “Hey, you could have gone easy on me here. That fire was hot.”

“Well, the battlefield is never easy,” Aqua said, walking over and extending a hand to her.

Kira grabbed her hand and stood up with a sigh. “Sadly.” 

"Don't worry, Kira. Offense will rise again!" Ventus said in an enthusiastic voice to the disappointed Kira. He threw his fist into the air.

"Right!" Kira agreed, nodding.

Hearing some grunting and keyblade swings, the four of them looked where Terra and Stellae were currently sparring. Stellae was jumping back and dodging Terra’s attacks. Smirking, she used her air magic to jump over Terra’s head and threw her keyblade at him. The impact caused Terra to fall flat on his back with a grunt. Lifting his head slightly, Stellae had her keyblade again, but this time she was pointing it close to Terra’s face. She then giggled slightly, moving her keyblade away from his face and extending a hand to him instead. “Good spar?”

Terra laughed at this motion, grabbing her hand and sitting up. “Good spar. I wouldn’t have expected less from the Master’s daughter.”

Stellae smiled, letting go of his hand and placing her hands on her waist. “It’s not like me to let my father’s teachings go to waste.”

Terra chuckled as he stood up. “True that. Alright, Aqua, how about we wrap things up with the three of you facing off at the same time?”

Akari made a stance. “I’m down!”

Stellae stepped forward and made a stance as well. “Same here.”

Aqua nodded. “Okay then, let’s do this.”

The mages and wielder faced off, showing powerful magic and battle techniques. After many orbs of magic and keyblades were thrown, the resulting victor was none other than Aqua.

"Your magic has improved greatly, Akari," Aqua said. "You still have ways to go, but your magic never ceases to amaze me."

"Thanks, Aqua!" Akari said happily.

“And Stellae, you also have to enhance some points here and there, but your technique is on point as always,” Aqua addressed.

“I’ll keep that in mind then, thank you,” Stellae said.

Ventus then took a few steps towards the others. ”Trust me, you guys are ready. You're gonna clean up at the exam tomorrow.”

"I agree!" Akari said.

"So do I!" Kira followed.

"I hope it's that easy," Terra said.

"It's like the Master said. Power is born within the heart. When the time is right, you just need to look inside yourself… and you'll find it there,” Stellae said.

"Hey," Terra said afterwards, "we should probably head back."

"Yeah," Ventus said.

The others nodded and followed suit.

Aqua was about to follow them but sees a shooting star in the distance. She took out her blue colored charm, the wayfinder, and held it up against her check. "Together… Always."

And that would be the last night they ever spent beneath the same stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Chapter 1! Consider this an intro to these three OCs of mine (don't worry, the last OC will show up soon enough).
> 
> Btw here are some links to the OC's keyblades, in case you're curious:)  
> Akari's Keyblade - [True Light's Flight](https://www.khwiki.com/True_Light%27s_Flight)  
> Kira's Keyblade - [Twilight Blaze](https://www.khwiki.com/Twilight_Blaze)  
> Stellae's Keyblade - [Aubade](https://www.khwiki.com/Aubade)
> 
> I wanted their keyblades to 1) come from the same game and 2) mean something for each wielder. I was aiming for the keyblades from Birth by Sleep but I found a better connection between the OCs and the keyblades from 358/2 Days:)
> 
> Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter! Let's see what happens during that exam *\\(^o^)/*


	2. The Mark of Mastery Exam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**3rd Person POV**

The day of the Mark of Mastery Exam has finally arrived. Terra, Aqua, and Stellae stood in front of the three thrones that were in the audience chamber. One throne was occupied by Master Eraqus, their Master. The other was occupied by a bald, old man with yellow eyes.

Ventus, Akari, and Kira waited on the left side of the chamber to spectate the examination. Ventus studied the old man curiously for a few seconds, but he averted his eyes when the old man looked back. Akari looked at Ventus with a worried expression on her face. She was about to ask him what's wrong when Master Eraqus stood from his seat and walked forward. The spectators stood up straight.

The Master then stood up from his throne and walked towards his pupils. Stopping in front of them, he began to speak in a serious tone. "Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but three of the keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates… but this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy— not a test of wills, but a test of heart. The three of you may prevail, or neither. But I am sure our guest Master Xehanort...” He looked over to the old man who was sitting on the rightmost throne, “did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fail short of the Mark." He then looked towards the candidates again. “I trust you are ready."

“Yes,” Terra, Aqua, and Stellae said enthusiastically to their Master's final sentence.

"Then let the examination begin," Master Eraqus announced, positioning himself in a battle stance as he summons his keyblade.

With a move of his free hand, the Master then summoned various orbs of light around the area. As the prospects got ready for battle, Master Xehanort secretly waved his hand, casting a layer of darkness onto the orbs of light. Everyone was shocked by the relentless orbs. However, only Xehanort had a malicious grin on his face.

Terra, Aqua, and Stellae began to fight the orbs, trying to complete the first part of the examination. Suddenly, an orb started hurling towards Ventus, Akari, and Kira.

"Look out!" The prospects shouted in unison at them.

Ventus summoned his keyblade and blocked the attack, protecting the sisters.

"Don't worry about us," Akari exclaimed.

"You three focus on the exam!" Kira added.

"But Ven, the three of you are in danger here," Stellae rebutted in a concerned tone.

“Go wait in your rooms,” Aqua agreed, sounding equally concerned.

"No way!" Kira yelled, summoning her keyblade.

"We've been looking forward to this— seeing you three become Masters," Ventus continued.

"We're not gonna miss it now!" Akari finished the sentence, summoning her keyblade as well.

"They can take care of themselves,” Terra suggested, persuaded by their determination. “They've been out there training just as hard as us."

"Yeah!" The three spectators said in unison.

The three happily shouted in a heartbeat before any objections were raised.

Reluctantly, the two older girls exchanged a worried look, but gave in nevertheless because the dangerous orbs were imminent.

"Stay sharp you guys," Aqua warned.

The six keyblade wielders started attacking the orbs of light and darkness. Akari, Aqua, and Stellae focused on dealing magic damage onto the orbs while Kira, Terra, and Ventus fought the orbs with physical attacks. At times, the magic and close-combat trios would team up to perform a devastating magic or physical attack, which could destroy multiple orbs in the process.

After the orbs were destroyed, everyone went back to their original starting places.

"That was unexpected… but one must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. It was an excellent test, one I chose to let unfold. Which brings us to your next trial," Master Eraqus said.

Terra, Aqua, and Stellae were facing each other, center stage, with keyblades at hand.

"Now, Terra, Aqua, and Stellae, the three of you will face each other in combat," Master Eraqus announced. "Remember, there are no winners— only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed. Begin!"

The prospects start fighting each other. Aqua is swiftly dodging Terra's attacks while trying to hit him at the same time. Stellae did the same thing, but mostly focused on blocking Terra and attacking Aqua. At some point, when Terra barely dodged one of Aqua's attacks, he extended his hand to the side. A sudden feeling of darkness spread across his free hand, making him bring the hand forward and staring at it in disbelief. He then lowered his hand and turned it into a fist, suppressing the darkness he had called upon. Acting as if nothing had happened, he continued on with the fight. Little did he know, Master Xehanort smiled at this sudden occurrence.

After the exam, both Masters stood in front of the prospects.

"We have deliberated and reached a decision. Terra, Aqua, Stellae, the three of you performed commendably. However, only Aqua and Stellae have shown the Mark of Mastery," Master Eraqus announced.

Aqua and Stellae gasped at this. Both of them would have thought that Terra would have passed as well. Apparently that was not the case.

"Terra," Master Eraqus continued, " you failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check. But, there is always next time. That is all.”

Master Xehanort then began to leave the room. Master Eraqus continued. “Aqua, Stellae, as our newest Keyblade Masters, you are both entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instruction." He then started to leave the room as well.

"Hey..." Aqua said with concern, approaching Terra.

“Terra…” Stellae said with a sad tone.

The three watchers also approached him.

"Terra, I'm sorry," Ventus said with a sad expression.

"We thought you would pass..," Kira also said.

“Yeah…” Akari said, saddened.

"The darkness… Where did it come from?" Terra said, still not believing what Aqua tried to break the silence that came after, but Terra started to leave.

"Sorry… but I need some time alone," Terra said, leaving the area.

* * *

"What do you make of Ventus?" Master Xehanort asked a boy in a black with red suit. The boy was leaning against a wall at the bottom of the stairs, his mask in his right hand.

"He ain't gonna cut it. Somebody's gotta break that loser in," the boy with the mask said.

"Not here you won't. I have to keep up appearances."

"I know that," the boy said, putting his mask back on. "He just needs a little incentive to leave home."

After a moment of silence, Xehanort spoke again. "And the girl?"

"Just like that loser. Although her attitude is a bit feistier than his."

"Very well, but don't do anything drastic to cause a disturbance."

"Yeah, yeah… I'll keep things low. They won't suspect a thing."

"Good," Xehanort said, before walking away.

The masked boy smirked under his mask before following him.

* * *

‘There’s darkness within me… So what does that matter?’ Terra thought before closing his eyes. He was sitting at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the castle. ‘I know I’m strong enough to hold it back.’

“Yes…” He heard an old man’s voice say.

Standing up and turning around, he saw Master Xehanort at the top of the stairs. Master Xehanort then continued. “You are indeed strong. The darkness is nothing to fear.”

“Master Xehanort…”

“And yet… how frustrating that Eraqus refutes its power,” Master Xehanort said before walking down the stairs in a calm manner, both hands behind his back. “Why, you could train with him forever and still… you’d never be a Master in his eyes.”

Terra then took a space towards him, his face showing a hint of desperation. “But why? Help me understand, Master Xehanort. What is it that I have failed to learn?”

“You’re fine as you are,” Master Xehanort said, reaching the bottom of the steps. He then extended his hand forward. “Darkness cannot be destroyed. It can only be channeled.”

Finishing this sentence, he closed his hand, his calm demeanor never wavering.

“Yes. Thank you, Master,” Terra said with a bow.

Just then, a bell started to ring. Terra looked around in surprise before running up the steps of the castle, leaving Master Xehanort behind.

* * *

_*A few minutes ago, before the bells started ringing*_

“… and insomuch as you two are now Keyblade Masters, you both must always be conscious of—“ Master Eraqus was telling Aqua and Stellae, but they heard the building bells ringing. The two new masters looked around, only to see a light shining behind the three thrones.

“What is that?” Master Eraqus said in confusion.

As he approached the light, Terra ran up next to Stellae and Aqua. He looked at both keyblade masters. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Aqua said.

“Why aren’t the others here?” Stellae added. “I feel that they should be here for this…”

Meanwhile, Master Eraqus was standing in front of the shimmering light. “Very well then, I will send my pupils to investigate.”

It seemed as if the master was listening to what the light was addressing. After a few seconds of silence, the master spoke once again. “Yes, I understand. Farewell.”

Master Eraqus then approached the three wielders. “That was my dear old friend Yen Sid. As you know, he is Master no more… but he still keeps a close eye on the tides of light and darkness. His counsel serves as signposts on the road we wielders of the keyblade must walk. All the more reason, then, for concern— for he tells me the Princesses of Heart are in danger. Not only from the forces of darkness, as you may assume… but also from a new threat— one that feeds on negativity. Fledgling emotions that have taken monster form— Yen Sid calls them the “Unversed”. As wielders of the keyblade, you are tasked with striking down any who would upset the balance of light and darkness. The Unversed are no exception. I tried to pass this news on to Master Xehanort, but my repeated attempts to reach him have failed. I doubt there is any connection, and yet… This all troubles me.”

“Master Xehanort is gone?” Terra said.

‘Strange… I’ve never heard Terra be so concerned about Xehanort before. Did something happen?’ Stellae thought, looking at Terra with the corner of her eye.

“So here we are,” Master Eraqus continued. “I need you three to get this situation under control. Eliminate the Unversed, and find Master Xehanort. I have unlocked the Lanes Between. You may use these forbidden pathways to travel between this world and countless others. The darkness looms closer than usual within these spaces, but your armor will protect you. Lastly, remember that order must be kept. You cannot tell anyone there are other worlds. Now go, and fulfill your duty.”

“Yes, Master,” the three of them said.

Terra turned around and started to walk away.

“Terra,” Master Eraqus said, stopping him in his tracks. Terra then turned to face his master. “Consider this an opportunity. A second chance for you to change my mind.”

“What?” Terra asked in confusion.

Master Eraqus then walked over to Terra. “You must know, I care for you like my own son. If I could have my way, I would name you Master in a second. But, how can I, when you are so obsessed with power? Terra, you mustn’t be afraid of losing. Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness.” He placed his right hand on Terra’s left shoulder. “You must never forget.”

After Master Eraqus removed his hand, Terra bowed slightly.

“Thank you, Master. I swear… I will not fail you again,” Terra said, before turning around and leaving the room.

“Master, we’d best be on our way,” Aqua said.

“Yes, we must not waste time,” Stellae added.

They turned to leave, only to see Ventus running towards the stairs that led to the front entrance.

“Wait, Aqua, Stellae,” Master Eraqus said, causing the two of them to stop and look towards him.

“Before departing, I have one other… Well, call it a request, of the utmost priority.”

“Yes?” Aqua said.

“What is it?” Stellae said slightly after.

“I told Terra this could be a second chance to show the Mark of Mastery… and I meant it. However, that flicker of darkness he displayed during the examination— I can sense it runs very deep. If he were to— If those powers were to prove too much for him to handle, I want you to bring him back to me at once. It’s for his own good. I could not bear to lose any of you to the darkness.”

“Of course. We would never let that happen,” Aqua started saying.

Stellae nodded. “We promise you we will bring Terra back. Only this time, you’ll see he has what it takes to be a Master.”

They turned to leave. As Aqua walked away, Stellae stopped briefly.

“He’s not as weak as you think… Father…” She said, before trying to catch up to Aqua.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Vanitas:) And poor Terra:( Looks like stuff is getting a bit complicated for the six friends...
> 
> Next chapter should add on to this small conflict, and after that: off to new worlds!


	3. The Masked Boy and The Departure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**3rd Person POV**

_*A few minutes ago, before the bells started ringing*_

Ventus was lying down on his bed, swinging his wooden keyblade. The wooden keyblade was a training weapon that Terra used to use when he was small. Now that Terra gave it to him, he has it for his own training.

He held up the keyblade for a moment and sighed, looking at the knicks and slashes on the keyblade with a frown.

‘How can so much hard work go to waste like that? Terra probably needed to prepare himself more or something. He looked ready though… Why did this happen?’ Ventus thought.

The bells from their home started ringing. Ventus sat up rapidly and got up to leave. As he was running towards the frame of his open door, he heard a voice. "Better hurry, Ventus…"

The blonde looked over his shoulder and saw a boy with a black mask, leaning against one of the tables in the room.

"Huh? Who are you?" Ventus said in alarm, not knowing how the boy got into his room in the first place.

"Or you'll never see Terra again," The boy continued.

"What? Get real," Ventus said. "I can see Terra anytime I want."

"Like right now? He's leaving you behind. And by the time you catch up…” The masked boy turned to look at him. “He'll be a different person."

“Look— whoever you are— you don't know the first thing about Terra. Me and him will always be a team. You trying to pick a fight or what?" Ventus said, putting on a battle stance while wielding the wooden keyblade.

The masked boy walks away from the table he was leaning on. "Oh grow up. Is that what you call friendship? You'll never know the truth unless you go out and look for it yourself.”

He turned his head towards Ventus as he finished his previous sentence. “Come on, what could you possibly know when you're stuck here, looking at nothing but what's in your tiny world?"

A portal of darkness appears and the boy in the mask stepped into it before he disappeared along with it.

Ventus sighed thinking of his memories with Terra. He remembered training together. He remembered how Terra went a little too hard on him, making him cry, and causing Terra to pat him on the head and apologize. He remembered Terra and him sitting down and laughing together...

Ventus couldn't bear losing his best friend. His fighting partner. The brother he never had. He ran off towards the outside of their home. "Terra!"

Akari saw Ventus running past her in the halls. She heard him yell out his best friend’s name with a sad and worried look on his face.

"Ven?" She said a bit loudly going after him.

Kira was next to her with a shocked and worried expression on her face. "Akari, what's wrong with Ven?"

"I don't know, sis. But one thing's for sure: it ain't good."

Both sisters looked at each other and nodded. The two ran off to chase after Ventus.

“Akari…” Kira started saying, but Akari shook her head.

“It’s fine, maybe now’s not the time,” Akari said, trying to keep her expression from looking sad. She was too worried about Ventus to think about her missed opportunity.

“Right…” Kira said.

“I still have a bad feeling about this…” Kira thought.

The two sisters kept running, hoping to catch up to Ventus and see what was going on.

* * *

"Terra!" Ventus shouted as he ran down the stairs in front of the castle they called home. He managed to find Terra in the forecourt just in the nick of time.

"Huh?" Terra heard him and turned around.

Ventus got to where Terra was, breathing heavily. "I… I…"

Terra pats him on the head. "It's okay."

The brunette nods at him slightly before turning around and hitting his own left-forearmed guard with a fist. He summoned his armor and keyblade. Pointing his keyblade to the sky, he fired a beam of light, opening a portal to the Lanes Between. He tossed his keyblade into the air, and the blade transformed into his Keyblade Glider, which resembled a high-tech motorcycle.

Terra jumps onto the glider when it reaches the ground. He makes a turn with the glider and then shoots up towards the portal.

"Whoa!" Ventus looked at the scene in awe.

Just as he did this, the sisters reached the forecourt and stopped right behind Ventus. And by the time the sisters arrived, Terra had already left through the portal.

"Ven, what's going on?" Akari asked worriedly.

"What happened to Terra?" Kira also asked.

Ventus, getting back to reality, slapped his own left-forearmed guard with the palm of his right hand to summon his own armor. He looked at it in awe for a moment, and responded to the two girls behind him. "I have to go find Terra. I have to prove that masked boy wrong!"

"Masked boy?" Kira asked.

"Ven, I don't know what the heck is going on right now… But if it's something involving Terra, at least let us come with you!" Akari said, not wanting Ventus to go at it alone.

"No!" Ventus shouted, making Akari jump a bit and Kira open her eyes widely. "Akari, neither of you are going with me! I have to do this on my own!"

Ventus still had his back towards them. He knew that if he turned around, he would give in. The blonde boy made his hands into fists.

"We just want to help you!" Kira tried to explain, but to no effect.

"I don't need any help from you guys!" Ventus sounded even angrier.

"Why not, Ven?" Akari asked, a bit angry, too. 

Hearing her voice, Ventus sighed, releasing his anger. He didn’t want to say it, but he had no choice. "I don't want anyone getting hurt."

‘Especially you, Akari,’ Ventus thought, not wanting to say it out loud.

Ventus summoned his keyblade and tossed it into the air, turning it into his Keyblade Glider, which looked like a hoverboard. Once the board reached the ground, he jumps onto it and does a turn just like Terra did. He shoots up towards the previously made portal, leaving the sisters behind.

Akari couldn't take it. She also hit the guard she had on one of her arms, summoning her armor. As she did so, she heard her sister yell out her name. The brunette summoned her keyblade and threw it up, making it transform into her surfboard-like keyblade glider. She jumped onto the glider when it reached the ground as well and headed towards the portal.

"Wait, Ven! Akari!" Aqua shouted, trying to reach the forecourt, Stellae and Master Eraqus right behind her.

“No! They mustn’t!” Eraqus exclaimed.

Kira couldn't believe that her sister would act like this. Akari was usually the type of person to think things through. This was not normal for her sister. 

The hazel-eyed girl was about to follow in her sister's footsteps, with the wish of trying to stop her, but Stellae had prevented her from activating her armor by holding the auburn-haired girl's arms down.

"Kira don't," Stellae said with an alert yet calm tone.

“You have to bring him back!” Master Eraqus told Aqua, deep concern evident on his face. “Stellae will catch up with you, but for the time being, just go!”

“Don’t worry, Master!” Aqua assured.

Aqua then summoned her armor and keyblade, which turned into her hover-scooter-like Keyblade Glider. Jumping onto her Keyblade Glider, she flew up and went into the portal moments before it closed.

"Let me go, Stellae! I have to look for my sister and Ven! Sure, I could expect something like this from Ven, but not from Akari! She's better than this!" Kira exclaimed, struggling in her grasp.

"Kira," Master Eraqus said, making Kira hold her tongue. "I know that Ven and Akari are important to you, but you shouldn't leave like this. You are not ready to face the other worlds yet. Neither was Akari and Ven. It's too dangerous. In your case, you might have a strong short-ranged offense, you still need to work on your long-ranged offense. You know what I'm referring to."

"I know, Master," Kira said sourly, looking at her master. "I know that I still need to work on my magic. I know it isn't as strong as my sister's. Heck, I even know that I can't even track the two of them, considering how weak it is. But at least give me a chance! Let me go look for them! What do I have to lose?"

With greater magic came greater abilities, and Akari had enough magic to be able to track anyone she wanted, as long as they resided in the same world as her. Since Akari could do this, there was no doubt that Kira could do this as well. But given Kira’s current magic training, she hasn’t even learned this tracking ability.

"That's enough, Kira," Master Eraqus said in a strict tone. "You are to go to your room for the time being. Both Aqua and Stellae will go looking for Ven and your sister, and bring them back safely. That's final."

"… Yes, Master," Kira said, still mad at her master.

"Stellae, please take Kira to her room and make sure she doesn't leave," Master Eraqus said to Stellae.

She nodded to her father. "Of course, Master.”

Stellae then looked at Kira, letting her go. “Shall we?”

Kira only clenched her fists. The two of them walked in silence back to the castle.

* * *

As Kira entered her room, Stellae took both of Kira's guards off her forearms. Kira always found it a bit weird how female apprentices had one guard on each forearm, while the male apprentices had one on their left forearm, but she didn’t mind the extra guard. They could be quite beneficial when in a tight bind.

Master Eraqus arrived a few minutes later, concern evident on his face.

"I'm sorry, Kira. But it's for your own good," Master Eraqus said, receiving the guards from Stellae. The young woman moved her right hand in a semicircle, creating a protective orb around Kira's room.

"Sorry, Kira," Stellae said, looking down.

"Stellae, you must make—," Master Eraqus said.

“Haste? Of course,” Stellae responded. “I’ll leave without any further delay.”

Master Eraqus smiled a bit. “Very well. I won’t hold you back any longer, then.”

Stellae then went over to Master Eraqus and hugged him. He hugged back.

“I’ll be back soon,” Stellae said, before letting go.

Master Eraqus then moved his hands to her arms and kissed her forehead.

“Be safe, my dear,” Master Eraqus said with a gentle smile on his face before releasing her.

She gave him a reassuring smile. “I will.”

Stellae then ran off. Master Eraqus walked away from Kira’s room seconds afterwards.

Kira was now left alone in her room, not a single soul in sight.

* * *

The auburn-haired girl had nothing to do. Sure, she could organize her book shelf, clean the place up, sleep, water her plants, practice magic, all those things. But the mere fact that her sister and Ventus were out there somewhere was bugging her too much. She was just lying down on her bed and looking outside her window. How the bright blue sky had no clouds… And how Stellae opened another portal and was leaving on her Hovercraft Keyblade Glider in search of Ventus and Akari. Kira didn’t even attempt to escape, since she knew that even Stellae's magic was much more powerful than hers. And she didn’t even rank as high if she were to compare Stellae's magic with Akari and Aqua's. So in other words, Akari and Aqua were the powerful mages of the group, Stellae was a close second, and then there was Kira.

"This is so unfair!" Kira said angrily, hitting the mattress of the bed.

"Looks like someone's having a good time," a voice said in a sarcastic manner.

"Who the heck are you?" Kira asked in shock, sitting up rapidly. "How did you even get in here?"

A boy with a mask appeared before her. He was leaning against the wall that was near her bookshelf. His arms were crossed.

"I don't have to answer to the likes of you. The only thing I will say is that you're coming with me, whether you like it or not," the boy said.

"And if I refuse?" Kira said, getting up from her bed and crossing her arms as well.

"You don't have a choice," the masked boy said, walking towards her.

"Don't you dare come near me, you creep!" The girl made fire orbs with her hands, trying to defend herself.

"Oh, come on," He said, moving his hand horizontally, causing the orbs to disappear from her hands in a flash.

"What the—" Kira said, before the boy grabbed her arms by force.

"Don't you wanna see your friends again? Your beloved sister?"

"I do! But I don't want to be helped by a freak like you!" 

"Feisty indeed," the boy complained.

"Excuse me?" Kira yelled at him in an enraged tone.

"Shut up," the boy said, twirling her around so that her back was facing him. He had one hand grabbing her wrists and another hand covering her mouth.

He made a portal appear behind him, and began dragging and pulling his hostage into it. But before he went through the portal with her, he had created another Kira in the room. She was lying down on the bed, looking at the window as she laid on her side.

"And if you're gonna call me names, at least use mine, Kira," he said, having the girl almost inside the portal.

"Mmph!?" Kira tried speaking but it was no use. Him knowing her name was a total mystery since they’ve never met before, and it was quite alarming to her.

The boy just ignored her muffled voice. "It's Vanitas."

At this time, both of them were inside the portal, which vanished from the room a few seconds later. The only person left in the room was the fake Kira resting on the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in the end left... Except Eraqus. And he doesn't even know what happened to Kira...
> 
> *sighs* Oh well, on with the story! As of now, there is NO more 3rd Person POV and rest of the fanfic WILL be 1st Person POV.


	4. One Maiden, Seven Dwarfs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Terra’s POV**

“Spirit of the Mirror **—** come from the farthest space. Through wind and darkness I summon thee…” The voice of a woman said, thunder roaring in the background. “Speak! Show me thy face.”

“What wouldst thou know, my Queen?” Another voice said in a solemn tone.

“Magic Mirror on the wall **—** who is the fairest one of all?”

“Famed is thy beauty, Majesty, but hold **—** a lovely maid I see. Alas, she is more fair than thee.”

“Alas for her!” The woman retorted. “Reveal her name.”

“Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow **—** ”

The woman gasped. “Snow White!”

I kept looking at the two speak, the event peaking my interest a bit. “A mirror that knows and sees everything… How about that?”

“The heart of Snow White doth shine bright. Beware, my Queen, a heart of light.”

“Another one?” I said, placing a closed hand to my chin. I remember finding a heart of light in the previous world that I visited. It belonged to a sleeping Princess in world’s castle. But that sorceress took control of me… And forced me to give her the princess’s heart. I was weak… Her light was stolen and it’s all my fault. I pledged to get her light back, but I need to learn how to stand up against the darkness first. But the question is: how? Master Xehanort seems to be imprisoning light for a reason… So maybe these hearts are the answer?

Realization hit me fast, making my eyes widen. “Wait. What if Master Xehanort is here?”

I think I raised my voice a bit too much, since the Queen in the room noticed she was not alone with the mirror. “Who goes there?”

I walked into the room. “My name is Terra. I’m looking for a man named Xehanort. Master Xehanort. I thought maybe you might have seen him.”

“That name is of no consequence to me.”

Looks like she doesn’t know him… I decided to turn around and walk away, when all of a sudden, the Queen spoke up. “Wait.”

The Queen crossed her arms. “Ah yes… I have a task for you. If you succeed, I will ask the mirror where you might find this Master Xehanort.”

“And the mirror will know?” I asked, turning around and facing the Queen.

“Do you dare to question me?”

This task… shouldn’t be too bad to handle, right? And doing so will get me a step closer to Master Xehanort’s whereabouts. “What is the task?”

The Queen chuckled, before approaching me with a small, red box. “There is a young maid who resides in this castle. Her name is Snow White. Kill her. And to make sure you do not fail, bring back her heart… in this.”  
I accepted the box in my hands. “Her heart? I don’t understand. You’re after the hearts of light, too?”

The Queen then stepped closer to him, a hand where her heart is. “What I demand is her life. I’ve had more than enough of her light.”

She then turned her back towards me and walked towards the mirror.

“What did this maiden do to you?” I asked.

“That is no concern of yours,” she said before facing me again. “Now, heed my words. My radiance is all the light this kingdom needs.”

“Where can I find her?”

“Outside the castle, there is a glade of wildflowers. You are dismissed. Go now and seek her there.”

I then turned to leave.

‘A heart of light… This Snow White is my best chance right now. Maybe she will lead me closer to Master Xehanort,’ I thought for a moment, before looking at the box in my hands. ‘But what if I **—** ’

… do the same as before? What if my inner darkness causes me to do something I’ll regret again?

I shook my head. ‘No, I won’t let that happen.’

It won’t be like before. I know it. Because after that experience with the sleeping princess… I should know better by now.

* * *

Leaving the castle and walking down a path, I managed to reach a glade filled with flowers, just as the Queen said. I noticed a young woman who was crouching down and picking flowers, arranging them into a bouquet. ‘I wonder if that’s her?’

The young woman stood up with the bouquet and hummed a song while she did some graceful steps. The little bird accompanying her was chirping happily, flying to the tune of the song. She then crouched down near another patch of flowers and continued her flower collecting.

The moment I approached her, she looked back. “Oh, hello. Who are you?”

“Aren’t you startled?” I asked. Usually, a person would be surprised to see a total stranger appear before them, especially if unannounced.

She then placed her bouquet down and stood up to face him, her smile sweet and gentle. “Should I be?”

‘It’s true, then. Her heart is pure light. She’s the one,’ I thought for a moment.

The young woman seemed confused, but her smile didn’t waver. “Is something the matter?”

I then decided to take my chances. Maybe she knows about Master Xehanort’s whereabouts? “Does the name Xehanort mean anything to you?”

“Why… why, no. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name.”

“Now what…” I said to myself. If she didn’t know, then I guess it can’t be helped.

Just then, small Unversed appeared out of nowhere. I summoned my keyblade and stood my ground. “Unversed!”

The young woman screamed in fear and started to run towards the woods.

“Hey, wait! Don’t go in there alone!” I shouted as I tried to catch up to her, but it was no use. The Unversed surrounded me in a matter of seconds. “Out of my way!”

I attacked every Unversed that appeared, the small ones were easy to take care of, but the larger ones took some time. In the end, all of the Unversed were defeated and I was able to approach the entrance to the forest.

“Lost her…” I said. Looks like she went deeper into the forest...

‘She said she doesn’t know anything about Master Xehanort. That leaves me with just one other option. The mirror… back at the castle.

* * *

“How dare you return here, you blundering fool?” The Queen asked as she looked at the mirror, her tone showing displeasure.

“What are you talking about?” I asked her.

She turned to me, crossing her arms. “I ordered you to bring me Snow White’s heart!”

“A request I chose to ignore. You know, you claim to be radiant, but all I see are shadows of jealousy, hanging thick on your heart.”

“You will pay for such insolence! Magic Mirror on the wall, consume this fool, once and for all!”

I then summoned my keyblade, ready for anything. However, nothing happened.

The Queen then turned to the mirror, waiting for the mirror to explain itself.

“Alas my liege, that I cannot do,” the mirror answered. “I have no power save answers true.”

“Huh? You dare defy your Queen?” The Queen raised her voice in rage. She then went over and grabbed a medium-sized vile that contained a green liquid inside and threw it towards the mirror. After the crash, I gasped in alarm, watching the mirror gasp in pain as the green liquid slid off its surface. The mirror then began to growl menacingly.

“What?” I asked, before I turned slightly to cover my eyes. The mirror was emitting a light that was far too bright.

Feeling that the light was dimming, I started to look around. The surroundings consisted of a smokey, purple aura, and at the center was the mask of the magic mirror’s spirit. Looks like it sucked me in.

I ran towards it and attacked. There were times when the mask would form clones of itself, spit fire through its mouth, and even charge at me with an indescribable power. But just when it was fully weakened, a light began to shine in the center of the area. And in the blink of an eye, I appeared exactly where I was before, the Queen turning towards me.

She gasped. “How did you escape?”

I then dismissed my keyblade and walked towards her. “Now, you will ask the mirror. Where can I find Master Xehanort?”

She grunted in frustration and turned briskly towards the mirror. “Magic Mirror, instruct this knave! Give him the answers he doth crave.”

“Beyond both light and dark he dwells, where war was waged upon the fells,” the magic mirror said before falling silent.

“Is that all?” I asked, hoping for more. But the mirror remained silent. Guess that’s it, and it’s better than nothing.

“Thanks. You’ve been a big help,” I said, before I turned to leave.

* * *

I entered the castle’s dungeon after exiting the room. I was able to traverse this dungeon more than once because of the Queen’s task, so heading back out should be easier.

“You should say thank you,” a calm voice said, echoing across the room. “If it weren’t for me, you would have been stuck in that mirror for a lot longer.”

Looking up to where the voice was. “Who are you?”

It was a young man that looked the same age as me. He had purple eyes and short silver hair that covered one of his eyes. A black cape was draped around his shoulders and his outfit had distinct hints of grey and turquoise.

The young man was sitting on the ledge of the platform before he dropped down and landed a couple of feet away from me.

“The name’s Ezra.”

“Terra. What do you mean for a lot longer?”

“That queen is sly. She might have given you a second round with that mirror.”

“Well, I owe you my thanks,” I said, walking away from him.

“Hold it,” I heard Ezra say.

I was about to turn back but Ezra appeared in front of me in a matter of seconds, as if the distance between us was extremely small. Placing a fingerless, gloved hand on my left shoulder, he leaned towards me. His face was inches from mine, his voice sounding right next to my ear. “Word of advice: Don’t believe everything that old man tells you.”

“What?” I looked at him in confusion.

“I know you trust him and you truly believe that he valors you. But once he gets what he wants, he’ll leave you in the dust. And if he finds someone better than you, he’ll replace you in a heartbeat. Not like he even has a heart to begin with…”

I shoved his hand off of me, not believing this for one second. “What do you know about Master Xehanort?”

“I know enough. Experience does that to a guy,” Ezra said, but then sighed. “You may not believe a shady guy that randomly shows up in a castle dungeon, but I’m only telling you this as a precaution. Be careful.”

In a blink of an eye, Ezra appeared on a higher platform, looking down on me once again.

“Wait!” I shouted. “Why are you even telling me this?”

“Let’s just say… I don’t want anyone to be in my exact same position. Consider me a friend of some sorts.”

* * *

**Akari’s POV**

I landed on a rocky area that was near the entrance to some sort of cave, a mine if I'm not mistaken. I got down from the small rocky mountain I was on and reached the bottom of the area. When I saw an entrance to a forest nearby, my intuition was telling me to go there. I ran towards the forest.

"I have to find Ven!" I thought to myself.

The intuition that I had was mainly because of my magic. When I'm trying to find someone that's in the same world as me, I can easily find them without large difficulties. But strangely, after Aqua gave us the wayfinders, my magical tracking ability increased in range a bit, so tracking is much simpler than before.

Running for a bit in the woods, I reached a small cottage. "Maybe someone from the cottage knows something."

I could just trust my magic, but better be safe than sorry.

I went over to the cottage and knocked. 

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" I asked.

The door opened after some time and a small man appeared. "Can I help you?"

"Pardon the intrusion, but have you seen a boy that's not from around here? He has blonde spiky hair."

A woman from inside the cottage apparently heard my question and rushed over to the door's frame, where the little man was. "Are you looking for Ven?"

"Yes, have you seen him?" I asked, trying to hold my excitement.

"He went down the road over there, into the woods. He was looking for a friend of his."

"Must be Terra. Okay, thank you so much, miss!"

"Oh you're very welcome. And my name is Snow White by the way," the woman said with a smile. "And this is Doc. He's one of the dwarves that live here."

"Pleased to meet you, dear," the dwarf said.

"Nice to meet you both. My name's Akari," I said kindly.

"Well, Akari, you better hurry on along before Ven gets too far," Snow White said.

"True. I'll see you guys later! And thanks for helping me out!"

"You're welcome, Akari, see you soon!" Snow White added, before Doc closed the door. I could hear rambling from the inside but I was too focused on running and finding Ven than listening on what was going on. I don't snoop around, it's just not right.

I reached a dark, spacious area in the forest. And to my surprise and luck, I found Ven battling a giant tree creature. We call these types of creatures the Unversed.

I ran over, summoned my keyblade, and made a battle stance. "Need any help?"

"The more the merrier," Ven said, a bit mad at the Unversed in front of us.

We battled the creature and defeated it quickly. It would have taken double the time if Ven had fought it alone.

"Thanks," Ven said, a bit tired from the battle.

"Don't mention it. What are friends for?" I said with a smile.

Ven also smiled. "I didn’t expect you to find me so quickly."

"Magical tracking remember? And I wasn't gonna let you go looking for Terra on your own."

"Well, nothing's gonna stop you now. Come on, we need to… Hold on, wasn't Kira following you?"

"Now that you mention it, you're right!" I said, realizing the fact. "If she left after I did, she would have been here by now. Something must have happened back home… Maybe she was stopped?"

"Probably…"

"The three of us weren't ready to leave to begin with, so maybe she got held back…”

I was silent for a bit, looking down. “Yet it feels strange… I thought I could sense her close by…”

I then shook my head. "Anyways, we need to look for Terra. You said that you had an idea where he went."

“Y-Yeah, follow me!" Ven said, dashing towards the forest clearing on the other side of the woods. I followed him with a quick pace.

"Terra!" Ven shouted, but Terra was nowhere to be seen. He sighed in disappointment.

Suddenly, an apple rolled over to my feet. I picked it up, and noticed an old woman with a basket of apples walking by. She was wearing a black hood.

"Excuse me, ma'am? You dropped this," I said.

The woman, who had her back towards us, turned around and happily accepted the apple. "Oh, why thank you, my pet. To tell the truth, I really don't know what I would have done without that."

The woman laughed in an evil tone, which I found strange.

"Haven't I seen that sword before?" She asked.

The old woman must be referring to our keyblades.

"Terra has one," Ven explained. "You know Terra?"

"Oh, yes, yes… That ruffian pointed one of those at me, asking about some “Xehanort”— my poor heart nearly stopped."

"That doesn't sound like him at all... Ma'am, where did Terra go?" Ven kept on asking.

"I'm sure I have no idea…” The old woman said before sighing tiredly. “Must you all menace a poor granny so?"

"What? No, I was just…" Ven stayed quiet.

The old woman turned around and walked towards the forest.

"Terra, what did you do?" Ven asked out loud.

"I'm sure Terra wouldn't have done anything like that, Ven. You know him better than anyone."

"I know, but I can't help but worry..."

"Hey, let's just keep looking for now. He'll turn up sooner or later," I said, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, you're right," Ven responded.

And so our search for Terra continues.

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

I had woken up from a strange dream. Somehow someone had broken into my room and kidnapped me without a struggle. Ha ha… Well maybe I'm not awake yet? After all, I only see a bunch of trees and… My wrists behind me?

"Someone's finally awake."

I jumped a bit. I looked to see a boy in a mask. So it wasn't a dream!

I struggled to get my wrists out of their uncomfortable position but it was no use. They were tied pretty tight. And my magic wouldn't undo the ties.

"No use in trying to break free," the masked boy said, leaning against a tree close to the tree that I was leaning against.

"What do you want from me?" I said, beyond mad.

"That's none of your business."

"It is my business because you kidnapped me from my own home!"

"Seriously, can't you just shut that annoying mouth of yours?" He said, walking over to me and lifting me off the floor. He then pushed me onto the tree that I was leaning on before.

"Ow! What are you—"

“Would you rather shut up or see your dear sister and friend get hurt?"

"I swear if you think about hurting them, you're dead!"

He then summoned something up to my neck. A keyblade?! "Would you like to take their place instead?"

"How do you…?”

The masked boy then let go of me, making me collapse on the ground sitting up, my heart beating quickly due to the shock.

"Just who the heck are you?" I said, my voice not wavering.

"Someone you should watch your tone with."

"Oh please! I'm not going to shut my mouth by your threats!"

"We'll see about that," he said in an impressively calm voice.

"What—?”

"Back off!" I heard someone say in the distance. Ven?!

I was about to scream for help when I heard some black and blue creatures with red eyes surround me. The two of them covered my mouth. "Mmph!"

"Need any help?" I heard someone else say.

My eyes widened. Wait a second! Akari, too?!

"The more the merrier," Ven said, not very happy.

I was able to peak on what was going on and they were attacking a giant… Unversed? I've read about them with Akari before but have never seen a real one until… Recently? Ever since this guy kidnapped me actually. Who is he? This is too strange.

I heard the two of them fighting the huge tree-like Unversed for a while before the clanking of keyblades ceased.

I heard them talk for a bit. Akari was suspicious that I wasn't with them, even though I attempted to leave… Yeah, I was stopped, but I was kidnapped afterwards by some creep! Seriously, I could be with them right now if it weren't for him… And Aqua, the master, and Stellae… But that's besides the point!

As I heard them leave I tried to shuffle away from the Unversed's grip. "Mmphmh!"

Don't leave. Don't leave! Please be quiet enough so that they can hear me!

The keyblade from earlier appeared in front of my face. I was silent.

After a few seconds of waiting, their footsteps were gone.

"Are you gonna shut up now or should I do that again?"

The Unversed let go of me but were still present near me.

"Wait a minute, that was you?! You summoned that giant Unversed?"

He lowered his keyblade. I heard him smirk at me. "So you've heard about them… Interesting. Who knew you would be the first one to figure that out."

"What does that—" I was going to say, but the Unversed disappearing made me look where the Unversed had appeared. Looking up towards the boy in the mask, I noticed him hovering over me.

He then grabbed onto the clothing that was on my neck, lifting me up again. He wasn’t grabbing my neck directly but I could feel a choking sensation.

“Listen, either you do as I say, or I'll make you regret ever opening that mouth of yours."

I was slowly feeling dizzy. I began squeezing his hand, begging for him to let go.

After a few more seconds he finally did. I felt involuntary tears falling from my face because of the shock. Holding my neck, I tried to get my breath back.

"Y-You're… awful…" I said.

"I can do something far worse, if that shuts your mouth faster."

I sat there in silence. The only thing I heard was me breathing heavily. I stared him down. How can someone so heartless exist?

For some reason I could hear him smirk. "That's better."

He then came down towards me again. I shut my eyes, ready to feel something painful. But nothing happened. 

Opening my eyes I see Vanitas right in front of me. What is he doing? I stared at him for a moment, before I heard him speak.

"Keep behaving as you're doing now and I won't be as rough on you. After all, your friends’ lives are on the line."

I kept my mouth shut. Okay, now’s not the time to get back at him. If I don’t heed for now, I might lose people that are precious to me.

He then stood up. "You can stand, can't you?"

I tried standing up on my two feet, feeling my legs shake. I feel that I could collapse at any moment.

"Seriously, you're pathetic…" I heard him say, before I felt him grab me by the waist and lift me onto his shoulder, my face having a good view of his back. The arm he used to carry me was holding onto my legs.

"W-What are…?" I managed to say in a low voice.

"We're heading somewhere else, and you walking and falling will slow us down."

He then started walking. As he walked, I could see darkness around us. That's when I knew we were traveling to another world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hello to the 4th OC! Quite a mysterious guy, isn't he? He seems to know about Xehanort for some reason...
> 
> Speaking of knowledgeable people: Kira's quite a smart-cookie here! (For those who have played KH BBS from start to end, you'll know that Terra was supposed to be the 1st to find out about the Unversed's origins.)
> 
> And let's not forget Akari! Ven's not alone in his search for Terra now:D
> 
> Now with that said... On to the next world!


	5. The Dress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Akari’s POV**

We went to visit the next world. Only to find that we arrived in a strange way. How do I put this… How the heck did we end up in a cage?! And the thing is, we're super small, considering all the massive furniture around us.

Ven was pacing back and forth, completely confused with the situation.

"What is going on?" He said, pausing in his step and crossing his arms.

I just shrugged my arms. Ven was immersed in his thoughts at the moment, seeing that he grabbed the bars on the cage.

"Somebody tell me how I got so SMALL!" He exclaimed, making the last word the loudest. Ven sighed after this.

"I don’t even know how, and this is the work of magic,” I said, looking around the room. “No doubt about it."

Suddenly a door opens, and a young woman walks over and picks up the cage we are in.

"Whoa!" Both of us shouted, tumbling inside the cage.

The young woman tilted the cage vertically, with no ulterior motive, and made us fall backwards.

I didn't feel too much of the cage when I fell. It was seconds after that I realized that I was laying almost on top of Ven, our faces inches from each other.

I stared at him with wide eyes, his cerulean blue eyes staring back at me. I felt my cheeks burning up, considering the closeness of our faces. His face was a bit red, too.

I rolled to the tiny space that was left of the cage, slightly embarrassed.

The woman opened the cage's door. "Don't be afraid. Oh! How interesting… I've never seen mice like you two before."

"Mice?" We both said, a tinge of embarrassment still lingering in our voices.

"Jaq, you better explain things to them."

The young woman sat the cage down and a mouse entered. He must be Jaq.

"Now, now, now. Look-a, little guy and gal. Take-ir easy. Notta worry ‘bout. We like-a you two. Cinderelly like-a you two, too. She's-a nice, very nice nice. Come on now. Zugk-zugk."

The three of us exit the cage. As we exited the cage, I muttered a "Sorry" to Ven for falling on top of him. He muttered an "It's okay" without Jaq noticing.

"Name’t Jaq."

"I'm Ventus. Call me Ven."

"And I'm Akari."

"Zugk-zugk, Ven-Ven, Akari. Need-a sotta? Ask-a Jaq!" The mouse said happily.

"Cinderella!" A voice said. It sounded like the voice of an older woman.

"Oh well, time to get to my chores. I'll see you in a little while, Akari, Ven," Cinderella said before leaving the room.

"Wow, I guess she's got her hands full," Ven said.

"Yep, work, work, work! Stepmothey keep-a Cinderelly busy all day!" Jaq commented.

"She didn’t seem to mind much, though," I said.

"No, not’sa Cinderelly. She work-a hard. Got a dream— big dream. Dream gonna come true!"

"That sounds like somebody I know," Ven said.

That sounds like somebody I know, too. It was Terra. He used to say that all he dreamed about was becoming a keyblade master. It must have been pretty difficult for him to accept that he didn’t pass the Mark of Mastery Exam. I feel bad for him...

"Hey, maybe you can help me find him! His name's Terra. You seen him?" Ven asked.

"No no. Never Terra ‘fore."

"Oh well," Ven said sadly. "It was worth a shot."

"Come on. Follow me. Gotta see the house." With that said, Jaq ran towards a mouse hole.

"H-hey!" Ven said, but he was not heard.

"Guess we go follow him," I said, walking over to the mouse hole.

"Yeah…" Ven said, following me.

* * *

The three of us go to a room with a large window that, on the other side, overlooks a beautiful castle. We sat on the window frame and admired the view.

"What's that?" Ven asked Jaq.

"That's the palace— King's palace. Gonna be a big ball tonight."

"Is Cinderella going?" I asked, curious.

"I don't know…" Jaq answered, hesitant.

I've read some stories back home about girls and dances. Their excitement to go, the eagerness to wear a beautiful dress… The wish to dance the night away… Maybe even finding true love… I'd love to go to one someday, at least to know what it's like. Although… I might have found that last detail a long time ago and I don’t know what to do…

After a while, the door of the room opens, and Cinderella enters.

"Hello, you three. Have you become friends already?" She asked brightly.

The three of us looked at each other and nodded. While we did this, Cinderella went over to move a dress mannequin.

"Oh, that's wonderful." She sounded glad.

Cinderella must be working on the pink dress she had on the mannequin. It's looking pretty good so far.

"You sure look happy, Cinderella," Ven told her, noticing her happy mood. She was humming a song happily while she adjusted some details on the dress.

"Mm, I'm going to the royal ball tonight," Cinderella said, but then sighed happily. "I guess dreams really do come true."

"Cinderella!" It was that voice again.

"My dress will have to wait," Cinderella said, not showing any disappointment in her voice. She was calm.

Two other voices, and high-pitched ones, too, called out her name as well. Looks like she's a lot busier than I thought.

“All right, all right, I’m coming!” Cinderella said as she left the room.

"Poor Cinderelly… She not go to the ball," Jaq said in a sad tone.

"Why not?" I asked, a bit sad, too.

"You'll see. They'll fix her. Work, work, work. She'll never get her dress done. Say, got an idea! Ven-Ven, Akari, help-a Jaq?"

"With what?" Ven asked.

"Fix up Cinderelly's dress for the ball," the mouse said.

"But what do we need to get?" Ven continued.

"Look around the house. Lots of pretty pretty things," Jaq said.

"Okay," I said. "Let's do it. We'll go find whatever we need. Jaq, you get things set up here."

"Zugk-zugk!" Jaq said happily.

Ven and I jumped down from the window frame, reaching the wooden floor in a matter of seconds. As we started to head towards the mouse hole, Jaq stopped us with a warning. "Ven-Ven! Akari! Care-fy Roos-a-fee!"

"”Roos-a-fee”?" Ven asked.

"Roos-a-fee a cat-cat! Meany… sneaky… Jump at you, bite at you!"

"Gotcha," Ven said. "Come on, Akari."

"Right," I said. And we went inside the mouse hole.

* * *

We looked all over the place. We found thread, some ribbons, and even beads. Our small size didn't help us much though. If we were normal size, we could have gotten the items faster. But we worked together and everything turned out fine.

Going back to the room we were in with Jaq, we saw the little mouse eying the dress. When he saw us, he told us that the dress needed a pretty pearl. Looks like we're on the hunt again.

"Leave it to us!" Ven said. And we were off!

* * *

We were hiding behind a table leg, not wanting to get caught. Looking around, I saw the pearl we needed, but we had a bit of a problem: the pearl was near a cat. It must be "Roos-a-fee", as Jaq said. Luckily, the cat was sleeping.

"Oh. There it is," I said, pointing at the pearl. 

We quietly tip-toed over to where the pearl was. I waved my hand in front of the cat, just to see if it was really sleeping. While I did that, Ven picked up the pearl. As we tip-toed away from the cat, our backs were turned from the feline.

Suddenly, Jaq called out to us quickly. "Look out! Roos-a-fee!"

He had pushed a ball of yarn from the table that he was standing on. Jaq had a nice aim, since the ball of yarn hit the cat right on the head.

"Flurry! Flurry, Ven, Akari!"

We took off, running towards the mouse hole that was at the end of the room. We didn’t have a choice. It was that hole or nothing.

Jaq kept on throwing balls of yarn at the cat, but it looked like the cat was not getting hit by them. Smart cat. After a while, we heard a thud. The cat apparently rammed the table Jaq was on and knocked him down onto the floor. That's not good.

"Ooh, that hurts…" Jaq said, rubbing his side with pain.

The cat was gonna hurt him! We ran as fast as we could towards the cat and Jaq. Just as "Roos-a-fee" was about to attack, we both blocked him with our keyblades.

"Time to play, cat!" Ven said, getting into a battle stance.

"Ven-Ven! Akari!"

I grabbed the pearl from Ven and gave it to Jaq. "Take the pearl, Jaq! We'll hold him off. Run!"

"Zugk-zugk!" The mouse said, and ran towards the mouse hole.

Never thought I was gonna fight a cat. But, hey, never say never.

Ven and I split up to face the cat. He did offense and I used magic. We were a good team, no doubt about it.

As Ven ran around, throwing his keyblade at the feline, I went to the top of the table Jaq was on. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!"

The cat looked over to where I was, and saw that I was creating a magic figure in the shape of a fish. The bait worked, since the feline was coming over towards me.

With this distraction, Ven went over and attacked the cat some more, but the cat was too mesmerized with the fish.

I decided to let the cat have his fish. I lowered the fish down and the cat opened his mouth. Too bad the fish was ice-flavored. The cat jumped back and ran away.

"Looks like that was a finishing blow," I said, getting down from the table.

"You said it," Ven said, and we high-fived. "Come on, let's get back to Jaq!"

I nodded. Back to the mouse hole we go!

* * *

"Oh, that's a big “thank you”," Jaq said after approaching us.

"No thanks needed. You saved us before, so we saved you," Ven said.

“And friends need to have each other's backs. That's what friends do, right?” I said with a smile.

"Zugk-zugk! Ven-Ven, Akari, Jaq are good friends!" Jaq answered happily.

"Now, let's get that dress finished," Ven said gleefully.

We went back to Cinderella’s room.

* * *

"Oh, well… What's a royal ball? After all, I suppose it would be frightfully dull and boring… and completely… completely wonderful." Cinderella was talking to herself while she sat on a chair and looked at the castle from the window. She's not gonna believe what we did! She's going to be so happy!

"Cinderella!" Ven called out to her. While he did this, Jaq and I opened the closet where the completed dress was in.

"Is that my dress?"

"Yes. It's a present from us," Ven added.

"Now you have a dress for the ball," I said happily.

Cinderella hovered the palm of her hand for us to climb on top of it. As Ven and I got on her hand, Cinderella also did the same for Jaq with the other hand. "Why, it's… it's such a surprise…"

"Flurry, flurry! Time ta go, Cinderelly!" Jaq said.

"Oh, thank you," Cinderella said gratefully. She then left with the dress with a smile on her face.

* * *

The three of us were sitting at the window again. So many things happened. We even helped someone fulfill her dream. Looking out at the castle, Jaq asked Ven and me what were our dreams. The little mouse hoped that Cinderella's dream would come true, so he wondered what our dreams are. We began to think and suddenly we realized… We both shared the same dream. We looked at each other and smiled. We wanted to become keyblade masters. The six of us did.

"Funny… I'd never really thought about it— at least until you asked us," Ven said, before summoning his keyblade. "My dream is to become a keyblade master."

"Same for me," I said, summoning my keyblade as well. "We share the same dream."

We both summoned our keyblades, and Jaq smiled. "Hope-a Ven-Ven and Akari dream come true, too."

The two of us smiled back at him and dismissed our keyblades.

"We just need to keep on believing, right?" Ven asked.

"Zugk-zugk!" Jaq answered.

We kept looking at the castle, until we decided to continue our search for Terra.

* * *

**Terra’s POV**

Walking around the forest area of the new world I was visiting, I heard someone crying close by. As I arrived at an area with a fountain, I saw a young woman kneeling on the floor, her arms crossed over a stoned bench as she sobbed.

Once I approached her, I noticed that she was wearing a pink and white dress that was badly torn up. I kneeled down on one knee. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s just that my friends made me the most beautiful dress, but my stepmother and stepsisters ruined it. And I was so looking forward to the ball,” the young woman said before she continued to sob.

I gasped slightly. How... How can people be so cruel?

“Darkness always finds a way into a wounded heart. You have to be strong. Strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials,” I said, trying to comfort her.

“But I…” She started to say, but all of a sudden I heard something behind us.

Looking back, I noticed that a group of Unversed had appeared in the open area behind us. “Unversed!”

I stood up and summoned my keyblade. Rushing over to the Unversed, I slashed at them one by one, taking care of them as fast as I could while protecting the young woman. Noticing that there were no Unversed near her, I rushed over to where a group of Unversed appeared near the fountain. But just as I was about to land a blow at them, I noticed several small Unversed approaching the young woman. Landing an attack on the group, I was seconds from throwing my keyblade towards the small Unversed, but another keyblade spun towards them and beat me to it.

“A keyblade?” I asked, surprised. I had never seen this keyblade before. I noticed it had a shining, bright blue center when it passed by. My gaze followed the keyblades direction, only to see its wielder holding it once again. I had a better view of the keyblade’s design: a clock design at the tip, gears around the handle, an hourglass keychain, a radiant blue center… It was as if the keyblade represented time.

I then got a better look at the person wielding this keyblade. A memory suddenly came to mind. 

_“... No matter how many times our paths cross, I’ll always have your back. You can count on it.”_

Back at the castle dungeon, Ezra had told me to consider him as a friend. He then proceeded to tell me this before vanishing without a trace. I found it quite strange. We’ve only just met and he immediately decided to have my back. It’s a good thing to have an ally but… isn’t this too out of the blue?

“Thought you may need some help,” Ezra said, before hitting another Unversed that was closing in on him.

“Highly appreciate it,” I said, eliminating more of the smaller Unversed.

We kept fighting the Unversed. Ezra decided to stay close to the young woman, defeating any other Unversed that appeared near her, and I kept fighting the Unversed that were farther away from them.

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

"…Why are you doing this again?" I said as I looked at the battle that was unfolding. Terra was fighting different-sized Unversed. He was even trying to defend an innocent civilian, too. "Wasn't earlier enough?"

I tried to compose myself more. I knew that if I speak even louder or get out of line with my comments, I would risk not only others, but also myself. My firm tone didn't waver though. I didn't want to sound weak. Not after what he’s done.

"I wanted to see what your friend’s made of. It's as simple as that," I heard Vanitas say.

We were near a forest clearing as we watched the fight. To our backs was a nicely-kept house. I was sitting behind some bushes and trees, while Vanitas stood next to me.

"If I wasn't tied up and you weren't the threatening type, I would have kicked your butt by now," I said coldly.

"Hate to break it to ya, but even in those circumstances were real, you would still lose in a second."

"I doubt it. After all, I've been trained well by my master."

"Are you serious? You were trained by a man that cowers in fear from the darkness and you think that's a good advantage? Don’t make me laugh."

"Shut up! You don't know the first thing about Master Eraqus," I said angrily.

How dare he talk that way about the master? He doesn't even know him!

"Oh and you wouldn't badmouth my master?"

"Well how can I if I don't even know who your master is? For all I know he could be a good guy," I said, starting to get annoyed.

"He’s anything but good, idiot."

"First of all, it's Kira. And second of all, I can't read minds and know how your master is in a split second. Not to mention I don’t even know who they are.”

Both of us were silent. Seriously if he would just tell me—.

"Tch, whatever," he said, pretty much annoyed. "Guess Eraqus hardly speaks about my master nowadays, even though he came to visit recently for some stupid exam. Guess their friendly ties have lessened since then."

After giving it some thought, it hit me: There’s only person he could be referring to, since he’s the only master that came to visit for the Mark of Mastery Exam.

“… Xehanort? He’s your master?” I said.

"Took you long enough, idiot."

"It's Kira!"

I hate this guy so much. I hope I get found soon, otherwise our clashes will pretty much destroy us. And when I mean us, I mean mostly me.

"What's the point in using your name if it doesn't matter to me?" He said, crouching down to my level. I could feel his gaze on me.

"Who knows? Maybe I could be of use to you," I said jokingly as I stared back at him.

"Hmph, we'll see," Vanitas said, before rising up and walking away from me.

"Excuse me?" I said, not believing what I was hearing. "So what you're saying is that you're going to use me? Is that what it is?"

"You talk too much," he said, approaching me again. "Don't you know when to shut up?"

I stayed silent. Being risky like this won't be good for me. I might die sooner if I keep up with this.

Vanitas just smirked. "Good girl."

Ugh, I hate him so much. Looking down on me. He's so annoying, too.

He then looked where he had summoned the Unversed. “What’s he doing here?”

I then looked over as well. There was another boy with a keyblade fighting alongside Terra. “Who’s he?”

“Nothing but trouble,” Vanitas said, before crossing his arms. “My master won’t be too happy about this.”

* * *

**Terra’s POV**

It wasn’t until several raids later that we finished eliminating the Unversed from the area.

“I can’t believe… not anymore…” I heard the young woman say. Looking over to her, I dismissed my keyblade. I wanted to say something that could cheer her up… But what?

Just then, the voice of an old woman started to speak. “Strength of heart is important, but that’s not all you need.”

Ezra dismissed his keyblade as well and walked over to where I was, his arms crossed. He then spoke to me in a hushed tone. “Hold on a sec.”

Suddenly, sparkles and mist appeared out of thin air. The area we were in seemed to have this magical feeling to it. Almost like a dream.

“There’s nothing left to believe in… nothing,” the young woman said.

“Nothing, my dear? Oh, now, you don’t really mean that,” the voice said.

When the mist and sparkles disappeared, the young woman was not crying over a stone bench: she was crying on the lap of an old woman.

“Oh… but I do. It’s just no use.”

“Nonsense! If you’d lost all your faith, I couldn’t be here, and here I am.”

The young woman looked up to see who had appeared before her.

Just then, the old woman helped her up. “Oh, come now, dry those tears. You can’t go to the ball looking like that.”

“The ball? Oh, but I’m not—,” the young woman said, looking at her dress with brokenhearted eyes.

“Of course you are. But we’ll have to hurry. Now, what were those magic words? Oh yes…” The old woman said, before walking to the center of the area and waving her magic wand in hand. “Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!”

With a wave of her wand, a multitude of sparkles flew towards a pumpkin in a corner, making it come to life. The pumpkin came to the center of the area as well, and with another wave of her wand, the old woman transformed the pumpkin into an white carriage with horses, the design showing elegance with a dream-like touch.

The young woman ran over to admire the carriage. Just as she did this, the old woman waved her wand once again, and in the blink of an eye, the damaged dress turned into a beautiful blue dress with glass slippers to match.

“Oh… It’s a beautiful dress,” the young woman said in awe.

I couldn’t help but look at both the carriage and the new dress. It was so magical I couldn’t believe my eyes. But what caught my attention even more was how the young woman’s belief came back to her in a matter of seconds. She seemed to have lost all faith a while ago, but now she’s vibrant and filled with hope. Her heart… It was filled with light.

“Why… it’s a dream come true!” The young woman said, running over to the water fountain to see herself through the water’s reflection.

“Yes, but like all dreams… I’m afraid this can’t last forever. You’ll have only till midnight, and then, on the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before.”

The young woman then approached the old woman and gave her a hug. “Yes, I understand.”

Letting go, the young woman mounted the carriage and left for the castle, waving good-bye to all of us.

Once she was gone, I couldn’t help but frown. “Her heart was full of light. Why didn’t I see it?”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Ezra said in a soft tone. “Her sorrow didn’t help you see that light.”

I then looked over to the old woman. “What did you do? I can hardly tell she’s the same person.”

“Who are you two?” She asked.

“Terra.”

“I’m Ezra.”

“Terra, Ezra, in your hearts, do you believe that dreams can come true?”

“I do,” I said without hesitation. “But I also believe you have to make an effort to make them come true.”

“I agree with Terra. Hard work leads to accomplishing goals and fulfilling dreams.”

“Yes, of course. But sometimes just believing in dreams is easier said than done. Cinderella believes her dreams can come true. I wanted her to see that she is right.” 

“So that’s what made her shine— faith in her heart that anything is possible,” I said, looking towards the castle. I then turned to the old woman, “Where did she go?”

“To the royal ball at the palace. Go. And when you see her dancing… you’ll know that she believes, and that will help you both to believe, too.”

Ezra and I then turned towards the road that led to the castle.

“Doesn’t hurt to go check things out,” Ezra said. “Shall we?”

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

We then started walking towards the castle grounds.

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

"Looks like they’re finally leaving. Wish the fight would have lasted longer though. Maybe more scars and bruises would have been good, too.”

I stayed silent for a moment. I then spoke as softly as I could. “Why do you try hurting everyone? What have they ever done to you?”

“If it’s Ventus or anyone related to him, then the more reason to hurt them.”

“But what has Ven ever done—“

“That’s my business and mine alone so can it,” Vanitas cut me off.

Wait so if it’s that way… Is that why he’s been…

I sat there in silence, thinking things through. “So that’s why you’ve been going from world to world and spreading havoc between all of us…”

After realizing that this sounded a bit lost in thought, I decided to bring my sarcastic tone back. “You should be focused on resolving things with Ventus and not “resolving” things with his friends, y’know.”

“Hurting his friends affects Ventus, idiot. And when I’m through with all of you, your precious Ventus will be so broken he’ll be blaming himself for all of this mess.”

I’m not even going to fight this guy for my name again. What he just told me is just too cruel. Who does this type of thing?

He came closer to me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to know what he was planning on doing. I then felt a piercing gaze from him as I opened my eyes again, as well as a hand on the top of my head. What the hell?

“I would stop snooping around other people’s business if I were you. Unless you want someone to get seriously hurt. Or worse, if you'd prefer.”

I tensed up a bit. He then removed his hand from my head, making me loosen up a bit. That was… strange.

He then stood up. “We’re leaving.”

“Huh? But—“ I started to say, looking over at where Terra and that other boy were fighting the Unversed. To my surprise, they were long gone.

“No use in calling out to them now. Not like you had a chance.”

I sat there in silence. But then a question came to mind. “Why is that boy nothing but trouble? Did something happen between him and Xehanort?”

“All you need to know is that they’re not on good terms with each other.”

“But why’s that?” I insisted.

“Aren’t you a little bit too curious for your own good?”

I sighed in defeat. Maybe I’ll find out sooner or later. Hopefully through someone else. “Fine, I’ll stop asking.”

“Good. Now let’s go to our next stop.”

Vanitas summoned a portal. I got up and followed him, knowing that I didn’t have a chance to escape him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for some of the confusing dialogue for Jaq... I really wanted to make him sound like the actual Jaq from the story.
> 
> On another note: Turns out Ezra has a keyblade! And a familiar one at that: [No Name](https://www.khwiki.com/No_Name_\(KHBbS\)). Now the real question is... Why does he have this keyblade? Keep reading to find out!


	6. Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Terra’s POV**

Ezra and I were walking down the forest path, our footsteps being the only thing we could hear.

A thought then came to mind. “Looks like our paths crossed once again.”

I heard Ezra chuckle slightly. “Seems like that’s the case. I told you I’d be there to help you out.”

“But I don’t get it. Why did you decide to help me all of a sudden? We’ve just met a while ago,” I said, looking over to him.

He turned to me. “I’ve been keeping an eye on Xehanort for quite some time, making sure he wasn’t causing any trouble. But then I found out about a concerning, little detail: He’s planning something, and you’re definitely part of that plan.”

“There was a sorceress in the first world that I visited. She told me that Master Xehanort had mentioned something about imprisoning the light…”

“That seems only part of it,” Ezra commented. “The real question you should be asking yourself is: why does he need you?”

I then came across a realization, stopping in my tracks. Why didn’t I ask him sooner? “Wait, since you know about Master Xehanort and this plan of his, do you know where he is?”

Ezra was a few steps away from me as he stopped walking as well. He turned to me. “Not in the slightest. When I found out that Xehanort had his eyes on you, I couldn’t sit still. So I decided to hide on the sidelines to watch over you. And by doing so, I lost any knowledge of his whereabouts.”

“When exactly did you start watching over me?”

“... Remember that sleeping princess at that castle?”

My eyes widened. Ever since then? Then why…?

“Then why didn’t you stop me? If you knew about Master Xehanort’s plan with the light, why didn’t you do anything?”

“At first, my goal was to see the situation at hand,” Ezra admitted, turning around and walking along the road once again. “I wanted to see what you were capable of when dealing with that inner darkness of yours. But that sly witch didn’t help when she turned the tables against you.”

I ran over to catch up to him as he continued. “I reacted too late… Before I knew it, you were under her control and had already stolen that young maiden’s heart. After witnessing these turn of events, I told myself that I’d do everything in my power to help you out no matter what. I regretted not helping you then... And knowing that old man wants to use you for something, I can’t let my guard down. He’s too crafty for his own good… And you should thank his obsession with darkness for that.”

After reaching Ezra, I lowered my speed and started to walk next to him.

I then looked at him. “Look, I’m grateful about you helping out and all. But I think I need some time before making any assumptions about Master Xehanort.”

“Alright, suit yourself,” Ezra said with a sigh. “Just consider this food for thought.”

We kept on walking in silence, the number of trees decreasing after every few steps. After a while, we managed to reach the palace garden’s gates. We stopped for a moment to take in the scenery. A large fountain was in the center of the area, flowers, bushes, and trees were adorning the sides, and an elegant palace was on the other side.

“We made it,” I said, before advancing forward.

I then heard Ezra speak up from behind me. “What happened at the castle wasn’t your fault.”

I then stopped dead in my tracks and turned to him.

“That old witch was controlling you, regardless of the darkness inside your heart,” he said, walking to my side. “That could have happened to anyone. Finding a keyblade wielder from another world right before her very eyes… Consider that old hag very lucky.”

I looked down. “But her heart _—_ ”

Just then, we heard something coming from the palace’s main entrance. Ezra and I both ran through the garden and up the steps that led to the palace doors. Reaching the top of the steps, we saw some small Unversed surrounding Cinderella, who was trying to find a way to escape them.

“Not here, too!” I said, before Ezra and I summoned our keyblades. Running over to the commotion, it only took one slash from our keyblades to clear out the Unversed.

Once the Unversed were gone, Cinderella turned to us in surprise. “I’ve met you two before…”

“We’ll take care of them,” I said to her in a serious tone. “You wait right here.”

“Please, may I go with you two? I so want to get to the ball,” she pleaded.

Looking back, I noticed that she had already approached us from behind. I was at a loss for words on what to do. I then looked towards the palace doors. “All right.”

“But stay behind us, or you’ll get hurt,” Ezra warned.

“Mhm”, Cinderella muttered gently.

“You’re not worried?” Terra asked.

“Didn’t you tell me it was important to stay strong?” Cinderella said.

I then looked back, a bit embarrassed. I can’t believe I forgot about that… “Oh, um… I guess I did.”

Cinderella just giggled.

I chuckled slightly and noticed that Ezra was shaking his head with a small smile on his face. He then fixed his gaze on the door. “So… you ready?”

“Yes,” Cinderella replied as I nodded confidently.

* * *

It was a good idea that we came along to serve as bodyguards for Cinderella. Countless raids of Unversed appeared across the palace, and she wouldn't have been safe on her own. The Unversed stopped appearing when we reached the ballroom’s entrance. Once we entered the ballroom, the three of us paused for a second. Looking around, we mainly noticed a duke and old woman on the side, and an elegant young man chatting with two women in colorful clothing right in the middle of the room.

“Oh, thank you… umm…” Cinderella began to say.

“Terra.”

“Ezra.”

“Thank you, Terra and Ezra.”

I then bowed my head slightly as I moved one hand behind my back and another hand extended gently towards the dance floor.

Ezra seemed to have gotten the gist of what I wanted to do, so he followed suit. “M’lady.”

Cinderella giggled at the gesture, bowing down as well. She then lifted her dress’s skirt slightly off the ground and began to walk further into the room, bowing to the duke and continuing onwards. Cinderella was then greeted by the young man, who offered his hand to her. Once she took his hand, he led her to the center of the ballroom.

“You seem like a real ladies man,” I said as I turned to Ezra.

“Me? Nah,” Ezra denied as he turned to me. He then looked towards Cinderella and the young man. “I just tend to read too many books. And when the perfect opportunity arises, I like using what I’ve learned.”

“Even so, I wish I could act like such a charmer.”

“Sounds like someone’s smitten,” Ezra asked, turning to me.

I chuckled. “Yeah… There’s someone I know. We’ve been close friends ever since I can remember. I used to consider her the best sister I’ve never had. But…”

“Now you can’t get her out of your head,” Ezra concluded.

I nodded. “Right. I sometimes ask myself whether I should come clean to her and tell her how I feel. But what if she doesn’t feel that way about me? Things will get awkward between us and I don’t want that.”

“Things will always be different, regardless of the outcome,” Ezra said, but then he cocked his head to the side. “Have you ever considered another possibility?”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now, there’s a 50% chance that someone shares the same feelings as you, and you’re considering the 50% that assumes otherwise. That other 50% can be split up evenly as well: 25% would consider the outcome of you and this fair lady being uncomfortable in being friends. Another 25%, however, would consider the opposite, though it will take time,” Ezra explained.

“The likeliness of each outcome will mostly be determined by how strong your friendship is,” he continued, placing a hand where his own heart is. “The connections of the heart are a powerful thing. And should you have a strong bond with her, it’ll only be a matter of time before that awkwardness fades away.”

“Not gonna lie, I always considered the worst when it came to telling her,” I said sheepishly. “But maybe… I won’t lose anything if I tell her. I’m confident that our friendship is strong.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Ezra chuckled. “An invitation?”

I laughed a bit as well. “You’re right, you’re right. Thanks, Ezra.”

“Don’t thank me, thank my books,” he said in a half-joking, half-serious tone.

I couldn’t help but laugh again. Ezra couldn’t seem to keep a straight face and decided to laugh as well.

I then turned my attention to the center of the ballroom. Cinderella and the young man were happily dancing together.

I smiled. “Maybe just believing is enough.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Ezra said, a smile appearing on his face as he placed a hand on his hip. “Her dream came true and she couldn’t be happier.”

Just then, I heard something come from one of the balconies in the ballroom. Looking closely, I could make out the figures of small, moving Unversed. “Unversed!”

“Can’t they give us a break?” I heard Ezra say. He must’ve heard them as well.

We then ran over to where the duke was and asked him how to reach that balcony. Apparently there was a passage beneath the foyer’s staircase. After giving our thanks, we ran down the stairs that led to the exit and entered the passage that the duke had mentioned. It was only a matter of time before we reached the balcony and encountered a large Conductor Unversed that had drum, violin, and trumpet Unversed as henchmen.

The Unversed started to conduct music that was deafening to the ear. Right when the music was giving me an immense headache, I felt someone grabbing the sides of my arms, quickly pulling me out of the balcony right before a beam of light fell where I once stood. Landing back, I noticed that I was in the ballroom once again, and the person who got me out of that music was none other than Ezra.

“Thanks for the save,” I said.

Ezra just nodded before looking at the large Conductor Unversed. “I wouldn’t want to go to that Unversed’s concert.”

We then distanced ourselves from each other, and prepared for battle.

“Down here!” I shouted at the Unversed, pointing my keyblade at it.

The Unversed then floated down to the ballroom’s dance floor, startling the guests that were present.

“Guards! Guards! Ooh, where could they possibly be?” We heard the duke say in a panic.

“We’ll take care of this,” I said, my focus on the Unversed in front of us.

“Everyone just focus on staying safe,” Ezra added.

With that said, the guests left the ballroom in a hurry.

The Unversed had already landed on the dance floor, conducting its deafening music through the drum, trumpet, and violin Unversed.

“How ‘bout I give us a head start?” Ezra asked, a smirk on his face.

He then raised his free hand towards the Unversed, his movements unwavering and precise. “Stopza!”

In a matter of seconds, all of the instrument Unversed paused in their movements. The Conductor Unversed didn’t seem too happy about that…

“I’ll take care of the bigger one,” I said, running towards the Conductor Unversed.

“Fine by me,” I heard Ezra say as I heard some slashes on his end.

Pausing the Conductor Unversed’s instruments really gave us the upper hand. I dealt heavy damage to the Conductor Unversed while he quickly attacked the paused instrument Unversed. After the instruments were destroyed, the Conductor Unversed decided to upgrade its baton to a larger weapon. By the time it did this, Ezra started to run towards the back of the Unversed and I followed suit by running towards its front. Our keyblades collided with the Unversed at the same time, causing the Unversed to vanish in defeat.

Ezra and I then walked towards each other.

“That takes care of that,” I said, dismissing my keyblade. “Couldn’t ask for a better keyblade wielder to back me up.”

“Likewise,” Ezra said as he dismissed his keyblade as well.

The duke then approached the two of us, a smile on his face. “Thank you. You two saved us all.”

He then looked worriedly across the ballroom. “The guests were just starting to enjoy themselves…”

“Well don’t give up just yet,” I said, looking at a part of the ballroom.

“Those two seem to be having fun,” Ezra said, looking towards that same area.

The duke looked as well and exclaimed happily.

“Tell us something. Have you always had a problem around here with those monsters?” I asked the duke.

“No. I believe… they began to appear shortly after a boy in a mask arrived in our kingdom with a young girl. Those that saw him said that monsters obeyed his every command and the girl was powerless in stopping him.”

“A boy in a mask and a young girl? Do you know where they are now?” I asked.

“Well… No, I don’t believe anyone has seen them since then.”

“I see,” I said, placing a hand to my chin. Then… where could they have gone?

Just then, a bell began to chime loudly.

“Come back! Please come back!” We heard the prince say. Looks like Cinderella ran out of time and was running towards the exit.

“I’m sorry,” Cinderella said, turning to him as she ran. She then focused her attention to the direction she was running towards and left, the duke right behind her.

I was about to run over to the balcony that overlooked the stairs, but Ezra’s serious tone stopped me. “Terra.”

I turned towards his as he walked over to me. “About that masked boy…” 

“Wait, you know him?” I asked. 

Ezra nodded before he continued. “He’s quite troublesome. If he was here a while back to cause mischief, then it’s safe to say he’s left not too long ago. Don’t let your guard down if you decide to investigate his whereabouts.”

“I understand,” I said but then recalled that there was also someone with him. “And what about the young girl?”

“You got me there… I may have a pretty good idea who she is, but I'd need to confirm this with my own eyes. That is, of course, if you don’t mind splitting up for the time being.”

I shook my head. “Not at all. You’ve been a big help. Just do whatever you need to do and we’ll catch up soon enough.”

Ezra nodded. “Then I’ll promise good intel when I return.”

He turned and began to walk away, but stopped for a second. “And Terra?”

“Yeah?”

Ezra turned his head, his uncovered eye looking at me. “Your heart is very strong, I can tell just by looking at you. Just keep fighting for what you believe in, and make things right. You’ll be okay.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I do feel guilty for what happened at the castle. But if I keep tormenting myself with all this negative talk, I won’t do anything to make things better. I just need to believe that I’ll make things right and fight for it with all my heart. “Will do.”

Ezra then nodded, a gentle smile on his face. He then turned to the direction he was heading. “Then may our paths cross again soon.”

With that said, he vanished once again.

After he left, I went over to the balcony that overlooked the palace’s main staircase. Cinderella was leaving the room, the duke calling out to her. I then noticed a familiar face. “Aqua!”

She then looked up and smiled. “Terra!”

I then went down the steps to talk to her. Apparently Ven and Akari ran away from home and were searching for me… I knew Ven wanted to tell me something, and now I regret not listening to what he had to say. I could have been something important…

On another note, it looks like Aqua and I don’t know about Master Xehanort’s whereabouts. I managed to tell her about the pure hearts filled with light that Master Xehanort seemed to be searching for right now, but I avoided talking about the masked boy and the young girl. I needed more information on them before mentioning anything about them.

It was after I suggested Aqua to talk to the prince for any clues that I recalled something that she may want to know. “Aqua. You still have the same dream?”

“Well… Yes.”

“There’s this girl here _—_ her name is Cinderella. She made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem… a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness.”

“Mhm,” Aqua affirmed with a nod.

“If you see her, give her my thanks.”

“Will do.”

I then turned to leave, deep in thought and connecting some dots. ‘The boy in the mask who was leading the Unversed… Who is he? Does he have anything to do with Master Xehanort’s disappearance? Master Eraqus said he first received word of these events from Master Yen Sid. Maybe it’s time I went and spoke with him myself. And who knows? I might find some intel to share as well.’

* * *

**Stellae’s POV**

I reached what it seemed to be a fancy palace. For royalty, if I’m not mistaken?

I was approaching a fountain outside, when all of a sudden I heard screaming close by. Doesn’t sound like it's from inside the palace. Maybe there’s trouble outside the palace grounds?

I decided to exit the palace gates in a hurry. I had a feeling that this was not an easy situation. I might be reading into things too much, but I can tell… The star that I’m on right now is not at peace.

As I approached the clearing, I saw Aqua fighting this giant, pumpkin Unversed. The Unversed was about to throw one of its vines at her.

“Aqua!” I said, throwing my keyblade at the Unversed’s vines, thus deflecting the attack.

“Stellae! Just in time,” Aqua said with a quick smile before going back into a combat stance.

I went over to where she was and held a fighting stance next to her. “Ready to finish this guy off? I’m game.”

She nodded. “Ready when you are.”

We then attacked the Unversed, Aqua using her magic while I used close-ranged attacks. After a while of fighting and dodging impressively toxic pumpkin seeds, the Unversed was defeated.

“Glad that’s over with,” I said, dismissing my keyblade.

“I agree. That Unversed wasn’t the friendliest opponent,” Aqua said, dismissing her keyblade as well.

_Aqua… Terra… see…_

My eyes widened. The stars are sounding weak and… gibberish? But why?

“Stellae?” Aqua asked, worried. “What’s wrong?”

My gaze softened, but I couldn’t help but worry. I placed a hand where my heart is. “This star is weakening… I can feel it.”

Aqua then approached me slightly. She placed a hand on my arm. “Maybe this world will be okay? After defeating that Unversed, the light that lives in this world should thrive.”

She had a gentle smile on her face. I felt some of my worry escape. She’s always like this… So much hope.

“C’mon, there’s someone I want you to see,” Aqua said, letting go of my arm and gesturing for me to follow her. I just nodded and followed her.

Reaching the palace once again, I saw a blonde, young maiden running towards a young man that seemed to be a prince and embracing.

“Is she the light you were referring to?” I said, sitting down at the fountain.

“Yes. And the person that I wanted you to see,” Aqua said, looking at me as she sat down as well. “Her name’s Cinderella.”

She then looked back at the prince and maiden. I did the same.

“A pure heart filled with light…” I said in slight awe.

It’s been ages since I’ve seen someone like this. They shine brighter than any star. Their light is just so… different. It’s calming… radiant… hopeful. I couldn't help but smile.

“It’s strange,” Aqua said, still looking at the young man and maiden. “The Master taught us darkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?”

Suddenly, I noticed someone’s presence behind us. Looking back, an elderly woman had appeared before us.

“Oh, my dear, you’re too young to know. Experience more things, and you’ll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams.”

“You two know each other,” I asked, not really alarmed. The fairy seemed harmless.

“Yes, she’s Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother.”

The fairy then turned to me. “It’s a pleasure, dear. After all, I appear to those who believe that dreams come true.”

I smiled. “Well, it’s true that I have dreams… I’m still hoping for them to come true. But I’m happy that one of them did come true.”

Aqua then looked at me with a smile. She knew what dream I was talking about. I could tell.

“Becoming keyblade masters was one of our biggest dreams, and look where we are now,” Aqua added.

“Looks like there are more dreams to come. And before we know it, they’ll come true,” I said, looking at the bright stars above us.

“I’m sure both of your dreams will guide you to do great things,” the fairy said.

And with that, the fairy godmother disappeared in sparkles.

Then I remembered.

“Oh! Aqua, have you seen Terra yet?” I asked, looking at her.

“Yes, but he’s already gone. I saw him when I got to this world. You must have missed him on your way here.”

“Oh… That’s fine. Guess I’ll catch him some other time then,” I said, sighing a bit.

“Something on your mind?”

“Nothing in particular really,” I said, calmly. “It’s just that I’ve been getting this strange feeling about him. I guess I just want to clarify something, since he’s been acting a bit odd lately.”

“I see,”Aqua said. “Is it something that not even the stars can tell?”

“Basically,” I said, jokingly. “So who knows what answers lie ahead?”

“Well, I hope you find your answers,” Aqua said, smiling at me.

For some reason, I felt her smile… different? I can’t put my finger on it…

I decided to look back up to the starry sky, not wanting to overthink things even further. But for some reason, I felt Aqua looking at me for a few moments, before she looked at the same starry sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww looks like Terra has a crush~
> 
> And Stellae is noticing something fishy about him... I wonder what could it be?
> 
> Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	7. The Poisoned Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Stellae’s POV**

After visiting the palace, Aqua and I left to pay another world a visit. It had so many trees and nature was showing its stunning colors… The world was truly breathtaking! Though that feeling didn’t last long once we approached a nearby cottage. There were seven little men around a glass coffin that read “Snow White”. We approached the coffin.

“What has happened here?” Aqua asked the little men.

“Poor Snow White…” A saddened little man turned to us and said.

Walking closer to the coffin, we noticed a motionless, young woman laying there. We couldn’t help but gasp.

“She was just as sweet as could be,” the same little man said.

“She sang us purty songs…” Another little man said.

“And made us smile,” a third man said.

“At bedtime, she told wonderful stories…” The fourth one said.

“About falling in love, an’ the Prince she’d met,” a fifth little man said.

“An’ when we went to work, she gave us all a kiss…” The sixth man said.

“She was so full of kindness— why, she made better folk of all of us,” the third little man added.

“From what you’ve said, she must have been very loved,” I said, feeling a bit sad myself.

“But, how did this happen to her?” Aqua asked, her tone just as sad as mine.

“The wicked Queen was horribly jealous of our dear Snow White’s beauty,” the first little man said. “So she used her evil magic to change into an old hag, and then she gave Snow White a poisoned apple.”

“An’ by the time we got here… Well, it was just too late. We found the princess as still as can be…” The third man added. “Nothing we could do would wake her.

“Isn’t there some way we can help her?” Aqua asked.

“Well, not unless nobody craves the bastle— uh, braves the castle,” the first man said.

“All you fools can stay here doin’ nothin’. But I’m not afeard a goin’, not even to that witch’s lair!” The sixth man said.

“You’ll never make it,” the first man warned. “The castle’s supposed to be guarded by magic, an’ crawling with monsters.”

Aqua looked at me and I looked back. I nodded.

“All right,” Aqua said. “Then we’ll go.”

“You two will?” The fifth little man asked.

“We will,” I said. “Leave it to us.”

“Well, all right, my dears. We’d be much obliged,” The first man said in gratitude.

I then looked over to Aqua. “Shall we go?.”

She nodded. “Let’s see what the Queen has been doing.”

We started to head towards the castle. We had to go through the woods to get there. As we walked, Unversed appeared. After clearing them out, we made it to the end of the forest and reached a beautiful flower field.

_Slee… ow— te… C-Cu—se…_

“W-What in the…” I said, clutching my head with one hand.

“Stellae?” Aqua asked, worried. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah… It’s just that the stars have been very weak recently. Their messages have been hard to hear ever since we left home… And there’s even more delay in the messages than last time. I believe the darkness in these worlds have increased far too much, hence the hurtful static I’ve been hearing.”

“Can you try tuning out their messages for now? Even if just for a bit?” Aqua asked.

I shook my head. “If there was more light than darkness, or even just a balance of the two, then yes. But right now, there’s more darkness than light in this world and we can’t change that. So I’ll have to endure this for now.”

“I see,” Aqua said, looking down.

Master Yen Sid had warned me about signal distortion and how it can occur, so I wasn’t so surprised. If there’s more darkness than light in a world, then stars would send unannounced signals that I couldn’t easily stop. And the more darkness present, the higher the chance of hurtful distortion ringing in my ears.

“Let’s keep going,” I said, removing my hand from my head and walking towards the castle that was now more visible to us.

After passing through the flower field, we made it to the castle’s courtyard. There was a young man with quite elegant attire by a well. He’s most likely a prince. And he looked troubled to boot.

“Is something wrong?” Aqua asked.

“This castle— it’s different somehow,” the young man started to say. “And I can't find the princess or hear her beautiful voice. Was it all a dream?”

“Wait. You mean you know Snow White?” I said.

“Oh yes, we met once. It was a song that drew us together… Has something happened to the princess?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so…” I said to him.

“The wicked Queen tricked her into eating a poisoned apple,” Aqua added.

“I must go to her! Where is she?” The prince said, worried.

“In the woods, guarded by seven kind dwarfs,” Aqua added on.

“I will find her,” the prince said. “Perhaps there is a way I can help.”

With that said, the young man ran towards the woods.

I looked over to where an archway was located and saw an entrance. “I believe we’re going through there. Though I am not particularly certain…”

“For some reason, I’m pretty sure we need to go through there to reach the Queen,” Aqua said.

She then looked at me with concern for a second. “It’s not like you to say that you’re not certain. Though you did say something has been wrong with the worlds that we’ve been visiting recently…”

I just shrugged. “What can I say? I’m actually oblivious for a change.”

I then advanced towards the archway. “Attempts at communication on either end will just give me a headache and little to no information.”

Aqua then caught up to me. “Well at least we have each other to help one another. After all, two heads are better than one.”

I smiled at her. “Right.”

The entrance led to a fairly-lit dungeon, with torches and chains. To think that a Queen would have such an ominous area in her castle…

_M—or… Tr—h… T— T…ra… Qu—_

I held my head with one of my hands as I leaned on one of the dungeon walls for support. I felt the pain in my head stronger than earlier. “Damn…”

“Stellae?” Aqua said, concerned. She had tried to support me with her hands and tried to keep me from falling.

“Sorry,” I said, letting go of my head and distancing myself from the wall slightly. “There must be a lot more darkness than I thought.”

Aqua then let go of me. “Do you want to go back? I could go check—“

I waved my hand at her. “It’s fine. I need to endure times like these. Especially since I’m a Keyblade Master and all. I don’t want the Master’s teachings to go to waste.”

“Alright, but remember you’re not alone when it comes to these things. You have all of us for support,” Aqua said worriedly.

“Yeah…” I said, feeling a bit more calm. However, I did feel my heart slightly tighten because of her statement.

During our Mark of Mastery Exam, the stars were trying to address something to me… But for some reason, there must have been some extra darkness in the world that made the signals a bit distorted… I could feel a slight pain but it was nothing major. I managed to piece the information together, but the final message left me speechless: everyone I knew will go through inexplicable fates that will cause our separation. I couldn’t find out if this separation was emotional or physical, no matter how much I asked. Looks like the darkness makes the stars speak when there’s nothing to ask and remain silent after an inquiry is made.

As we advanced even further, I could feel the pulsing in my head continue. This should be nothing. I need to be strong… I can’t rely on others for support all the time…

Reaching the innermost chamber of the dungeon, we saw that the Queen was nowhere to be seen. We decided to search the room. The only thing that stood out was the mirror… It had a strange aura.

“Something’s not right,” I said, approaching the mirror.

Just then, lightning struck inside the mirror, which was then followed by fiery flames. A mask then appeared before us. I jumped away from it. Aqua then stood next to me and was examining the mirror as well.

“What?” Aqua said, questioning this mirror’s actions.

The mirror shined brightly. My eyes widened. What’s going—?

I then saw Aqua rapidly move in front of me. “Huh? Aqua what—?“

The light became even brighter, making it really hard for me to keep my eyes open. I even had to shield them, considering how blinding the light was.

After the light subsided, I unshielded my eyes and opened them again, only to have them widen once more.

“Aqua?” I asked, extremely concerned.

I looked around. “Where did she—?”

It then hit me. “This must be the mirror’s doing…”

I approached the mirror at a fast pace. Looking at the mirror, I began to think about what to do… Is there anything I can do to bring her back? The magic on this mirror is far too strong, and damaging it can only trap Aqua in the mirror forever...

“Seriously…” I said, placing one hand on the side of my head. “Why is magic so complex?”

After thinking for a bit more, a light shone once again. However, it was a lot more dim and in the shape of a figure. Wait, Aqua?!

“Aqua! ” I said, running up to her and placing both hands on her forearms. She was facing me with a relieved expression.

Our attention was then directed towards the mirror due to a sudden noise coming from it. The mask appeared before us once again.

“The Queen is gone, my service done. Adieu, O victorious one,” the mask in the mirror said, before it disappeared.

I then looked at her. “You okay?”

She looked at me and nodded. “Anything new happened while I was gone?”

I released her as I looked down. “No… I was trying to figure out how to get you out… And all of my ideas could have left you stuck in the mirror for good… I’m sorry.”

Aqua shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize. You did your best.”

She then turned her back to me and walked towards the mirror. She then placed her hand on the glass and sighed. “At least the battle was won.”

“Aqua…“

Aqua then turned to me. “C’mon, let’s head back to the cabin.“

I nodded.

We then left the castle grounds behind.

* * *

Already at the cabin in the woods, we were standing with the prince while the seven dwarfs mourned. The glass coffin was opened. The prince walked over to the coffin and kissed Snow White. After doing so, he kneeled next to the coffin. Then the unimaginable happened: Snow White opened her eyes. My face was filled with glee.

“Princess!” Aqua said, noticing this, too.

Snow White sat up and stretched a bit. Everyone was so happy to see her alive again. The Prince then stood up and picked her up while the dwarfs danced around with happiness on their faces.

“That’s so sweet,” I said, smiling. “It’s just like a miracle…”

I then looked over to Aqua, who seemed lost in happy thoughts.

* * *

**Aqua’s POV**

Seeing Snow White wake up… I couldn’t help but remember the day Ventus woke up from a deep sleep.

I _was standing right next to his bed, while Akari was kneeling next to me and Kira was sitting on a chair next to her sister._

_“Ventus, why won’t you wake up?” I asked._

_I turned to leave, knowing that Akari and Kira would stay to watch over him._

_However, I heard a gasp from Akari, which caused me to turn around._

_“Ventus!” Akari said, relieved._

_“You’re awake! Ventus, oh, it’s a miracle!” I said._

_I then ran into the hallway. “Terra! Stellae! Master Eraqus! Ventus is awake!”_

_I went back into the room, only to have the others reach the room in a matter of seconds. Terra looked very happy to see him awake._

_Stellae laughed a bit, relieved. “Looks like my thoughts were on pointe.”_

_I looked over to Kira and Akari. Kira looked very happy as well, but it couldn’t compare to Akari. I also noticed that ever since Ventus woke up, he would have his eyes on Akari. And Akari would just keep a gentle smile and look back at him. Funny… For some reason I see their friendship becoming something more someday…_

Coming back to my senses, I looked over to where Snow White was. She was giving each dwarf a kiss on their head. After this, the prince carried her off while she and the dwarfs waved goodbye.

“Every waking is a new journey, Maybe Ven left… because it was his time,” I thought.

* * *

**Stellae’s POV**

“Aqua?” I asked, slightly concerned.

She shook her head, noticing my concern. “It’s nothing. Just remembering when Ven was sleeping and woke up.”

I smiled. “I still remember that my prediction was correct that time. I was telling Terra about it but he wouldn’t believe me.”

Aqua then looked at me. “Stellae, you said earlier you wanted to confirm something with Terra, right? You mind telling me what it is?”

I shook my head. “I don’t mind. It’s just… He’s been giving a strange vibe. As if he has feelings for me or something. Even the stars agreed and I was very confused. So why not ask the main source of concern directly to clear any doubts?”

“Is there a chance you may feel something for him?”

“Don’t think so. Terra’s like a brother to me. Yeah, I’m sometimes a bit protective of him at times… But I wouldn’t want to be all lovey-dovey with him. That would make me feel uncomfortable, since he’s family and all.”

“I understand what you mean,” Aqua said. “I can’t help but worry about him, too, given how close our family ties are.”

“Well, I’ll hopefully know what’s going on with him sooner or later.”

Aqua nodded, but then came to a realization. “Hey, how about this: why don’t we go our separate ways for now? That way, both of us can cover more ground while looking for Ven and Akari. And who knows, maybe you’ll find Terra along the way? Your doubts can be cleared a lot faster if we do this.”

She sounded so calm and okay about splitting up to search for Ven and Akari… I felt tense at the thought of being separated, especially since everyone else is apart right now... I just clenched my fists. “It may sound like a good idea… But I’m not comfortable with it. Not while everyone is apart. We should stick together.”

“Stellae, doing this assures us in finding either of them along the way. We won’t be separated for long,” Aqua said, before summoning her armor and keyblade glider.

She then left the world, leaving me to my thoughts as I took out my wayfinder. Looking at it, I let out a sigh. “You don’t know, Aqua… You just don’t know…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch... Looks like Terra is in for a shock:(
> 
> And Stellae doesn't like what fate may have in store for them...
> 
> Coming up next: the second to last chapter for Part 1!


	8. The Curse of The Sorceress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Akari’s POV**

Ven and I reached some castle hallways in another world. We walked around, trying to see if Terra was somewhere to be found.

"Still no sign of Terra," Ventus said, a bit down.

"Don't worry, Ven. We'll find him soon," I reassured him.

"Yeah," he said, a bit more calmed.

There was a door in front of us, so we decided to enter it.

"Ah?" Ven expressed, and tip-toed over to a bed with a sleeping young woman.

I followed him quietly and looked over. She’s really pretty. But why was she sleeping in the middle of the day?.

"Stop, you get away from her!" A voice said.

We turned around and saw three fairies. One had a red outfit, one had a blue outfit, and one had a green outfit.

“Wha— Oh, I'm sorry. It's just, I've never seen anyone so beautiful."

… What? Did Ven just say that? Right in front of my face? … I swear, I’ve known him for less than five years and he’s NEVER complimented me like that... How can he easily say this to some sleeping beauty he’s just met?! My face must be priceless right now. I don’t usually get jealous over trivial things like these… But if it’s about Ven, I can’t help it! Why are you like this, dear heart?

I sighed. Calm down, Akari. Calm down. He just said that she’s beautiful… Oh, who am I kidding? Are you serious right now, Ven?! This is ridiculous!

One of the fairies, the blue one, noticed my expression, but didn't want to spotlight me like that. I was grateful she didn’t say anything.

"Who are you two?" The red fairy asked, flying over to examine us.

"I'm Ventus. But you can call me Ven."

"And I'm Akari," I said. I tried to not sound in a bad mood. Didn't show a hint of it.

"Oh… You two don't seem bad, dears. I'm certain you two have pure hearts, just like our precious Aurora," the green fairy said.

"Can you tell us why she's sleeping?" I asked.

"Long ago, Maleficent cursed her," the red fairy said. "Now she's stolen her heart."

"Hm… Well then, why don't we go get it back for her?" Ven suggested.

Love the idea, Ven. Really, I do. It's for a good cause. But damn! Why can't you notice how mad I am with you?!

"That's impossible, dear," the green fairy said. "Maleficent's home is at the Forbidden Mountain. It's not safe."

"We're not afraid. We can't just leave Aurora like this. We can help. You gotta believe me. C'mon, let's go get her heart!"

"You know, you're absolutely right. The Forbidden Mountain is through the forest. Come along— follow us. After all, we wouldn’t want you two to get lost," the red fairy said.

We both nodded and departed from the castle.

I didn't speak a word to Ven. I gave him the cold shoulder. Took him some time to realize something was up. He spoke to me right after we crossed the bridge that led to the castle. "Hey, Akari, everything okay? You're awfully quiet."

"Everything's fine, Ven," I said without any hesitation in my voice. He looked a bit startled at first, but then his face was filled with worry.

I'm not saying another word. C’mon, Ven, I think you can figure something out.

When we both reached the edge of the forest, there was a green flame barrier that was blocking our path.

"Looks like we're stuck."

"Yep," I said coldly. He looked at me and I walked a bit forward to inspect the barrier better and to avoid his face.

He was going to say something, but the red fairy talked to us first. "This must be Maleficent's doing."

"I know," the green fairy said. She flew over and waved her wand. In an instant, the flame disappeared. "Shall we?"

"Yup!" Ven said. I could feel his gaze on me. I just nodded to the fairies and went along with them, leaving Ven behind and ignoring him.

* * *

**Ventus’s POV**

I saw Akari walking away with the fairies. She was acting a bit cold ever since we found Aurora. But not to the fairies. She was just cold to me. I tried to show some enthusiasm a few seconds ago, but she just ignored me and went along with the fairies.

"What the heck did I do?”

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

We appeared right in front of a path that led to a castle. The castle seemed… dark? The path was on a cliff… and I could sense a strong dark aura coming from the castle.

My eyes then widened by the sight of Ven and Akari running up the path.

I clenched my hands into fists.

“I’m assuming that I can’t do anything right now to reach them.”

Vanitas walked past me and got to the start of the path. “Exactly. One wrong move on your part and they're as good as gone.”

I heard him chuckle for a moment, looking at the castle. “This should be fun.”

A dark aura was starting to emanate from Vanitas. Suddenly a group of giant Unversed appeared. Wait… He’s summoning the Unversed now?! But Ven and Akari are still on the path! 

“One small slip up, and they won’t see the light of day,” he added.

I know I’ll be in trouble if I do anything… But I need to try something! Something that doesn’t involve me blowing my cover… And Ven and Akari falling off a cliff because of the Unversed.

‘Looks like I’m trying a leap of faith,’ I thought quickly, before running over to where Vanitas was and tackling him on the spot. I wasn’t able to throw him to the ground, but at least the dark aura disappeared. Either way, he was putting up a fight.

“What are you doing?” Vanitas yelled at me, but not loud enough for Akari and Ven to hear him. He was trying to push me off of him.

“Just stopping you from hurting my friends!” I said, not wanting to let go of him.

He then shoved me so hard that I was forced to let go. I took a couple of steps back after the impact. I didn’t feel the ground as I took a last step back though. Before I knew it, I was falling off the cliff, screaming.

No! I don’t want to die yet! And I don’t want my death to be because of this jerk! After a few more seconds of falling, I saw a dark figure falling towards me. I really couldn’t focus my vision but I could tell the figure was holding something… Is that a—?

I closed my eyes, not knowing what would happen next. I was then grabbed by the waist and heard rocks breaking apart. I felt the figure and I slowing down, both of us upright even after falling. I could still feel gravity affecting us. Opening my eyes, I saw what just happened.

“Seriously, why are you such a pain?”

“Vanitas?!” I was in shock.

The guy that I hated most just saved me?! How is that even possible? He hates me as much as I hate him! I noticed his keyblade was jabbed onto the rocky structure and how it left a huge crack on the cliff. I also felt his strong grip on me. He’s very strong…

He then summoned a dark portal where his keyblade was jabbed, causing both of us to fall through it. In less than a second, we were back at the top of the path again. He was still holding onto me as we landed on the ground.

He then let go of me and stood up. I just looked at him, bewildered and confused.

“Why did you… Why did you save me?” I asked, alarmed at what just happened. “If you really hate me, you would have let me fall. But you didn’t.”

“The master wants you alive. Not letting you live will only be going against his orders.”

“Why would Xehanort want me alive? It’s not like he has any plans for me,” I said, standing up.

“You’d be surprised,” He said, not looking at me and observing the road ahead. “You’re lucky they didn’t notice what was going on. Otherwise, things would have gone worse for you.”

I crossed my arms. “So either way, I would be affected by this whole situation.”

He chuckled slightly. “You catch on quickly.”

“I mean, I HAVE been held hostage by a creep. So technically, yes,” I said, glaring at him.

He turned around and started walking towards me. I could feel his gaze on me, despite his mask. “Watch it.”

He then grabbed my chin with his right hand, making me look at his masked face. “Just because I helped you live, doesn’t mean things are different between us. Understand?”

I looked back at him, trying to not be intimidated by his glare. “… Okay.”

Vanitas then let go of me. He turned his back towards me. “Good. But because of this whole stunt, I’m going to mix things up a bit. Make it more interesting.”

My eyes widened. “Vanitas, don’t you—“

I was cut short by Vanitas’s sharp tongue. “Dare? Of course I would. Besides, it looks like things will get more exciting if I do this.”

Summoning a portal, he walked through it. I followed him, knowing that running away would make everything a lot worse.

* * *

**Akari’s POV**

We reached the castle grounds after some hiking. And to our surprise, we were welcomed by the castle guards. Or should I say goons.

"Careful," the red fairy said. "They're Maleficent's."

"Well, they ain't guardin’ nothing," I said, running over to them. Ven followed me.

"Ten-shun!" Ven exclaimed, as if he was the commander of some military base. I almost laughed. But I didn’t want to break my anger for him at the moment.

"No sleeping on the job!" Ven added. The goons looked tired, so it makes sense to tell them that.

Ven and I battled the goons in the courtyard, and inside the castle itself. There were so many of them!

After traversing through the castle, we found Aurora's heart. We used our keyblades to unlock the barrier and set her heart free. When the heart was released, it flew away, wanting to return to its body.

"That should do it. Huh?" Ven said.

For a moment we both saw a memory that didn’t belong to any of us. It was about Aurora and some guy that wanted to meet with her again. When the memory ended, we were a bit confused as to what happened.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Aurora's memory," the red fairy said. "She must have gotten her heart back."

"So her dream came true!"

"Yes, not long ago," the fairy continued. "Dreams are very strong beliefs. Aurora's led her to her true love."

"I see you two hold strong beliefs, too. Don't you, dears?" The green fairy asked.

"Yup," Ven said.

I just smiled at the fairy and nodded.

"You two also have a strong light," the red fairy added.

After a moment of silence, the blue fairy spoke up worriedly. "Alright. Hurry, we can't stay here!" 

We decided to leave the castle’s chamber. But before exiting the area, Ven grabbed me by the wrist and stopped me for a second.

"Ven, we have to go. You heard the fairies," I said, not wanting to talk to him.

"Not until you tell me what's going on. What did I do?" Ven was a bit desperate at this point.

I sighed. "Ven, we’ve known each other for years. And you should know how hard it is for me to get jealous over something so trivial. Yet here we are.”

"Huh?” Ven began to think. After a few seconds of pondering, his eyes widened.

Bingo, Ven.

“I-It’s not what you think! Yeah, she's beautiful and all… But I’ve seen beautiful people in my life before, even before her. I’m even grateful to be traveling with the most gorgeous and stunning girl I’ve ever met—”

Ven stopped talking abruptly, averting his gaze. He scratched his head sheepishly, his reddish cheeks quite visible. I don’t know if he's like that because of his realization or his confession. But that last part left me speechless. I feel my cheeks flaring up.

“I-I think I rambled a bit too much,” Ven said, embarrassment evident in his voice.

“… So you really think that of me?” I asked nervously.

He slowly nodded. He then faced me, not caring that he was flustered from ear to ear. “Y-Yeah. I mean, I've known you for almost five years…And during that time, I learned that you have an amazing and radiant personality. Not to mention you are pretty and cute and very special to me…”

"Ven…" I don’t know what to say… I just stood there, taking everything in. He… said I was special to him?

Ven just scratched his head sheepishly again, looking away from me.

Looks like jealousy got the best of me. That's not gonna happen again anytime soon.

“A-Anyways, come on, let's get out of here," Ven said, smiling. His cheeks were still slightly flushed.

“Y-Yeah," I said, smiling back. I could still feel my cheeks burning a bit, but I didn’t mind it.

As we ran, Ven caught my attention for a second. “Hey, Akari?”

"Hm?"

"You finally smiled," Ven commented, laughing a bit.

"Hehe, looks like I did." It was my turn to act sheepish.

We reached the room that led to the exit, when all of a sudden, we were stopped by a woman with a dark robe and horns. There was also a staff in her hand.

"Someone has released Aurora's heart. Tell me, children, was it both of you?" She said.

"Maleficent!" The red fairy exclaimed.

"Only 'cause you stole it in the first place!" Ven said, summoning his keyblade. He tried to attack Maleficent, but she disappeared through some green fire.

We looked around for her. Both of us spotted her on some sort of stage. I summoned my keyblade as well.

"A keyblade… You two must be Ventus and Akari."

"Huh? How do you know about us… and the keyblade?" Ven asked, glaring at her.

"My powers ensure I'd know of the key to bringing me hearts. Terra gave me a demonstration."

"Terra? He was here?" I asked.

"Why, yes. In fact, it was he who stole Princess Aurora's heart."

"That's a lie!" Ven shouted, and we both did our battle stances.

"I was asked to leave you unharmed… but it seems I have no choice!" And so, the battle began, with the three fairies on our side.

* * *

After a long fight, filled with green flames, offense, and magic, we managed to take her down. She was currently walking up the stage’s stairs in pain.

"There's no way Terra would hurt somebody like that!" Ven said.

"You don't believe me? That's unfortunate, for he agreed so easily."

"He did?" Ven said, looking down.

I just stood there in shock. Would Terra really do that? He's not that cruel! Is he?

"Ven! Akari! Don't be fooled!" A voice said. It was too familiar to be true.

"Aqua!" Both Ven and I said in unison, looking to where Aqua's voice was coming from. She ran towards us.

"Terra would never do that. You two know that as well as I do." Aqua continued, stopping in front of us.

"Yeah!" Ven said.

"We're not falling for your tricks!" I added, directing my words towards Maleficent.

"Ahh… The truth can be most cruel, even amongst the closest of friends. After all, one never knows the secrets of another's heart. I'm sure you'll agree… Ventus… Akari… Aqua."

Aqua then looked at both of us. "The Master sent me. Ven… Akari… let's go home.

"But Terra…" Ven said.

"Terra's not ready to leave yet," Aqua cut him off calmly.

* * *

**Ventus’s POV**

I remembered what the masked boy said. That if I don’t catch up soon… Terra would be a different person. I'm not gonna let that happen!

"Sorry, Aqua. But I can't go with you."

“Wha—" Aqua started, but was cut off.

"It's just… I have to find him before it's too late!"

I ran away from Aqua, who was calling out to me. I can’t turn back. I have to find Terra!

"Terra, where are you?" I said, running away from the interiors of the castle.

* * *

**Akari’s POV**

"Ven!" Aqua shouted to him.

I looked at Aqua. "Sorry, Aqua. I'm not letting Ven go alone."

With that said, I ran after Ven. Luckily, I managed to catch up to him, just enough for him to hear me. "Ven, wait up!"

Ven looked back and saw me. He slowed down a bit, waiting for me to catch up.

I was about to reach him. I was so close! However… When I felt a keyblade at my neck and an arm wrapped around my waist… I knew I wasn't going to reach Ven anytime soon. I screamed, I struggled, I tried to break free. I could hear Ven calling out to me. Running to where this unknown person was taking me. I could only see Ven's eyes widen. Was it because of fear? Does he know the person? Probably both, since I heard him call out to the person. He didn’t know his name, but just by referring to the person as "you" only made things a bit obvious. Ven knows my kidnapper.

I can't really say what happened next. The guy knocked me out.

The last thing I remembered was Ven calling out to me.

* * *

**Stellae’s POV**

Seriously, what was Aqua thinking? Now I’m on a wild goose chase with her! I swear… I’ve been worked up over things before, like helping Ven, Akari, and Kira with training. But now it’s this? I really need to get my cool back.

… I just don’t want that prediction to come true too soon. I don’t want anyone’s bonds to suffer. And losing Aqua’s bond even after being with her for a few minutes is stressing me out more than finding Terra and the others.

I managed to arrive at what seemed to be a castle-like area that had a bridge that connected it to a forest... I was still flying high on my glider when I noticed a giant, black dragon in front of the castle gates. Wait, is that—?

I dismissed my keyblade glider and armor, and had my keyblade at hand as I dived towards the dragon at rapid speed. The dragon was close enough for me to deal a heavy hit on it. And apparently that was the second-to-final blow for the dragon.

I then ran over to the other side of the bridge, trying to reach the person that I thought I lost. “Aqua!”

“Stellae? What are you—?”

Just then, the dragon summoned a line of fire that separated us from a young man that was also fighting the dragon.

“No!” Aqua shouted.

The dragon was biting at the man as he swung his sword at it. Suddenly, three fairies shot three glowing lights towards the young man’s sword.

“All together… Now sword of truth, fly swift and sure… that evil die, and good endure,” I could hear the red fairy say.

A spell is cast on the man’s sword, causing it to shine. He then threw the sword at the dragon, hitting its heart. The dragon bursted into green flames and disappeared along with the thorny vines that were around the area.

After this occurrence, the young man ran towards the castle. I then noticed a woman in a black cloak and a pair of horns. Her staff had a green ball on top. She looked weakened. Was she the dragon? Most likely…

“It’s the power of true love that defeated you,” Aqua said to her.

Love? Maybe the young man was looking for his true love inside the castle but needed to defeat the dragon…?

“I will not be defeated by something as insignificant as love,” the woman said, obviously injured.

“You don’t even know the first thing about it. You’re too clouded by darkness to see that there’s something greater,” Aqua continued, looking towards the castle. “Try all you want, but you’ll never defeat a heart filled with light.”

“Perhaps… But remember one thing— as long as there is light, there will be darkness. And in time, many more will be drawn to it. Then they will all belong to me!” The woman said, before fading into green flames, laughing.

“Terra… You better stay strong for me,” Aqua said, placing a hand where her heart is.

“I swear, he’d better show up sooner or later. Otherwise, he’s got another thing coming for making us worry.”

She nodded, smiling as well and looking a bit more calm. “He’d better.”

_ Ter— art… _

...Not again. I hate these headaches…

“Stellae?” Aqua asked, her face filled with worry once again.

“Aqua… Did Terra do something here?”

“I believe so. Hearing what that sorceress said… We need him to explain things clearly.”

“Thought so…”

She then looked up to the sky. “We should probably leave soon. Who knows, maybe we’ll catch up with the others?”

I nodded. “I’ve got a pretty good feeling that we will. Just a gut feeling that I have.”

We then summoned our armors and keyblade gliders, and left the world, not knowing if my hunch was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, Ven and Akari are the cutest<3
> 
> And people are catching on to what Terra did...
> 
> The final chapter for Part 1 is up next! And Part 2 will be coming soon:)


	9. A Foe, A Battle, A New Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Terra’s POV**

I arrived at the floating island where Master Yen Sid’s Tower was located. I was about to approach the stairs that led to the entrance, but I paused momentarily. A mouse with a keyblade had exited the castle. He must be a wielder, too.

The mouse then took out a shining, blue and green star shard, holding it up high. “Alakazam!”

And with that said, the mouse was engulfed in light before he started darting left and right across the sky. Before I knew it, he had disappeared before my very eyes. You don’t see that everyday…

I approached the doors to the tower and entered. Going up the steps to the castle and entering a portal, I arrived at the main chamber. Inside the room was Master Yen Sid looking out a star-shaped window. I quickly stood up straight, showing my respect. “Master Yen Sid.”

He then looked back with a serious hum that matched his serious expression.

“My name is Terra.”

“Yes. Eraqus’s pupil. I’ve been expecting you,” Master Yen Sid said, before walking over to the back of his desk. “It is the Unversed.”

I approached the front of his desk as he sat down on his chair. “Yes, Master Yen Sid. I thought it best to seek the counsel of one wiser than myself.”

“I am no longer a Master. I doffed that mantle.”

“But sir, wasn’t that your pupil I passed on the way in? He had a keyblade...”

Master Yen Sid then looked down, his eyes closed. “You refer to Mickey. He, too, sought guidance here.”

He then looked towards me as he opened his eyes again. “As a king, he is good and kind. But the weight of a crown has not cured him of impetuousness. He has left with an object whose power he does not understand nor know how to control. Mickey imagines my Star Shard will be of help in his current quest. And, like you, he is eager to use his keyblade to set things right.”

“I’m not sure I even understand what’s wrong,” I said, concern evident in my voice. I know what Ezra meant before he left… But I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing something crucial… “Master Xehanort is missing… And now I’ve learned there’s a masked boy who is controlling those Unversed on the loose, and a young girl that can’t seem to stop him.”

“To arrive at the truth, perhaps you should approach things differently— first consider them one and the same problem.”

“Master Xehanort, the Unversed, and the young girl are connected somehow?”

“I must not make assumptions…” Master Yen Sid emphasized. “Find Xehanort, Terra. That is where you should begin.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, before leaving the tower.

Looks like finding Master Xehanort will lead me to more answers...

* * *

I tried searching for Master Xehanort through the Lanes Between, but I haven’t had any luck so far. Flying through an area, I heard a voice calling out to me. It sounded like Master Xehanort! After the voice told me to go see him at once, I made my Keyblade Glider go faster and pass through a teleportation portal. I may know where Master Xehanort is!

I then appeared in a world that was as dry as a desert, the ground cracked and arid. I flew down to the area with my glider and began to search, only to see Master Xehanort down below. “Master Xehanort…”

Flying down, I dismissed my armor and Keyblade Glider altogether. “I have been to other worlds. I know all about the things you’ve done. I just don’t understand why.”

“Someone had to safeguard the light… from the demon I unleashed,” Master Xehanort said, a bit saddened. “You must know about the boy by now, the one in the mask. His name is Vanitas.”

“A creature of pure darkness,” he continued, raising a palm before forming a fist. “One of my making.”

“Vanitas… Are you telling me he came from you?”

“He came from Ventus.”

I gasped. “Ventus?”

“Yes. Vanitas is the darkness that was inside your friend. It was an accident. While training with me, Ventus succumbed to darkness, and there was but one way to save him— strip that part of him away. And thus Vanitas was made.”

He then turned his back to me. “In the process, I damaged Ventus’s heart in the most horrific way. So I did what I felt was right, and left him with Eraqus. I knew the boy could not stay with me, the man who did him such grievous harm.”

“Master Xehanort…” I said, before approaching him. “Ventus has gotten a lot better since then. You shouldn’t blame yourself for trying to save him.”

“Well… Thank you lad,” Master Xehanort said, turning his head slightly to look at me. “You know how to put an old man’s heart at ease.”

Master Xehanort then turned his head to face the dusty distance in front of him.

I then recalled a memory and smiled. ‘So that’s what it was.’

A few years back, I was training with Aqua and Stellae in the throne room. We were practicing our keyblade movements diligently, when suddenly we heard the front doors of the castle open. Looking over the balcony that overlooked the main entrance, we saw Master Eraqus receiving an older man and a young boy with blonde hair. It seemed that Master Eraqus left with the older man to talk about something, and the young boy didn’t move an inch to follow them. We were concerned about the young boy, so I went over to see if he was okay. I tried introducing myself and asked for his name. His name was Ventus. The same Ventus that we know now.

Relieved to see he was okay, I called out to Aqua and Stellae, wanting them to come over. With smiles on their faces, they came over and introduced themselves as well. I then asked him if he was here to train with us, where he was from, and who the older man was. I didn’t know he was Master Xehanort at the time, so I went and asked him about it, figuring he’d know. I also asked if he was good with a keyblade. Stellae then cut me off, a concerned look on her face. She told me to hold off for a bit, and that something was amiss.

Ventus looked troubled with all of the questions. He began to show pain in his lifeless eyes, and moments later he kneeled down and began to scream, his hands on his head.

We asked him if he was alright, but he only bent down in pain. Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort seemed to have heard his screaming and came down immediately to see what was going on. And it looked like the scream reached Akari and Kira’s ears, since they came running down to meet us as well. 

Master Eraqus then asked what we did, and I told him that I just asked him some questions. He then said that Ventus couldn’t tell us anything because he couldn’t remember anything.

So… It all makes sense now.

“Master...Why is Vanitas still free?” I asked.

Master Xehanort then turned towards me, his hands behind his back. “Ah yes. Well, I did my best to contain him the moment he emerged, but…”

“He managed to escape,” I finished for him.

He nodded, before approaching me. “Vanitas uses the keyblade to sow seeds of darkness. And now, you see— the worlds teem with his ghastly underlings.”

I gasped. “The Unversed!”

“He has no control over the darkness in his heart. The keyblade is not his to bear,” he said, walking away from me. Turning in my direction, he continued. “He’s an abomination beyond hope of salvation. And anyone who falls victim to him will only face unbearable suffering.”

Master Xehanort then extended a hand to me, before clutching his chest with both hands, his face filled with grief. “Lend me your strength, Terra. Right this wrong that I have wrought.”

“But I have no idea where to find him.”

“What I can tell you about Vanitas amounts to this— his darkness is drawn to the light, which he seeks to disrupt… and then destroy.”

For some reason, I had sudden flashes of memories before my eyes: both from the known past and the unknown future. I gasped. I could see a cherished memory about my friends in one instance, but then see an unimaginable memory about my friends’ future. It was heart-wrenching... What does this mean?

“It stands to reason that he will strike next in the city of light, Radiant Garden,” Master Xehanort said, bringing me back to reality.

I shook my head in disbelief. No… I won’t let anything happen to them. “Don’t worry, Master. I’ll take care of Vanitas.”

With that said, I left for Radiant Garden, hoping to stop Vanitas once and for all.

* * *

**Ezra’s POV**

“What a load of bull…” I scoffed, leaning against a dry boulder, my arms crossed. Didn’t take me too long to find this old man. And who knew Terra had the same luck a minute ago?

“I thought I made myself clear last time: You’re not welcome here,” Xehanort warned, not looking back. Looks like someone didn’t forget about me.

“And I thought people could roam the Realm of Light as they pleased,” I said, sarcasm in my voice.

“You know exactly what I’m referring to, boy.”

My expression darkened. “What you’re doing to Terra isn’t right. And I don’t just mean all the lying.”

“I’m only leading him down the right path. It’s only a matter of time before fate takes its course.”

“And I’ll be there to stop that fate from happening.”

“You ignorant boy, haven’t you realized already? Destiny cannot be changed once set. It’s never left to chance.”

“I can at least try,” I said, glaring at him.

“I have warned you time and time again: this is a dangerous path you’re walking,” Xehanort said, turning towards me. “It will not end well for you.”

“Be that as it may,” I said, staring at his wrinkled face. “Know this, old man: No matter what fate has in store for me, I will always be there to stop you. After all, ruining your plans is what I strive for.”

* * *

**Ventus’s POV**

He took her. I can't believe he actually did that! And not only that, but he has a keyblade! I have to find them! I have to… I can't distract myself in the Lanes Between, otherwise I won't be able to find them.

Suddenly, the masked boy passed by me, holding Akari in his arms. Good thing she’s in her armor.

"Gotcha!" I said, following them into another world.

* * *

I reached the world, landed, and dismissed my glider and armor. Looking around, the only thing I saw was a deserted area. The ground was dried up and cracked. The mountains were no different. "Where's he hiding?"

Turning around, I saw the masked boy, and next to him, collapsed on the floor, was Akari.

"All right! First thing's first: give Akari back!" I shouted, not happy about the whole situation.

"Why should I? She's your greatest weakness, after all," the boy said, placing a foot on Akari's back.

"You rotten—! Either give her back, or I'll make you!" I was beyond mad. I summoned my keyblade, ready for a fight.

The boy chuckled. He removed his foot from Akari's back and took his battle stance, his keyblade at hand. "Good. Let's see what you're made of."

We began fighting. It was all offense. There were times he disappeared and attacked me from behind but I managed to dodge the majority of those. After a while, I got knocked down onto the floor and I couldn't get up. He started approaching me.

“S-Second thing… What did you mean about Terra being a different person?" I asked, not sure where all my energy went.

"Exactly what I said, idiot. The Terra you know will be gone forever."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Looks like I do have some energy left.

"Stupid, or true. But seriously, that really all you got? Man, you are worthless. I'd be going against the Master's orders, but so what? As far as I'm concerned, your job here is done," the masked boy said, before charging up an attack.

Did I just fail Akari? She needed me, but I was too weak to protect her… If it's over for me, what's going to happen to her? No… I'm not gonna give up that easily!

The masked boy released the attack and an fiery explosion occurred. But strangely enough, I didn’t feel an impact. There was a lot of dust, so I couldn’t see what happened. As the dust cleared up a bit, I saw a mouse. He saved me.

"Don’t worry! You're safe," he said.

The mouse then summoned his keyblade and held it up. "Heal!"

I felt reenergized! The mouse really saved me from a pinch.

"Tell me where you got that!” The mouse said, turning around and running a few steps towards the masked boy. He then pointed his keyblade at him. “Keyblades are not something you use just to bully somebody around! Here, I'll show ya!"

"We both will!" I said.

The next battle began. Thanks to our teamwork, we were able to overthrow the masked boy. He laid on the floor for a few seconds, before getting up swiftly, without any difficulties.

"Hmph, you win," the boy said, creating a dark portal behind him.

He started walking backwards, approaching the portal as he spoke. "Consider yourself on probation."

With that said, he escaped, the portal vanishing afterwards.

"Probation for what?" I said. Then I remembered the reason I followed him.

"Akari!" I shouted, running to where she was laying. The mouse that aided me followed suit.

I kneeled before her, trying to see if she was okay. She opened her eyes. "Ven?"

With the little energy that Akari had, she sat up. "What happened?"

"The masked boy kidnaped you, but the two of us managed to beat him," I said, looking at the mouse and back at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, nodding.

I looked at the mouse. "Thanks for before, I owe ya. The name's Ventus. This is Akari. What's yours?"

"I'm Mickey."

"I see you've got a keyblade," I said.

"Yep. I've been trainin' under the great Yen Sid," he said, dismissing his keyblade. "He found out the worlds are in trouble, an' I sorta took off without tellin' him."

"Well, that makes three of us. We ran off, too," I commented to him.

"All I hafta do is think it, and the Star Shard will take me anywhere I wanna go," Mickey said, pulling out a blue and green star-shaped object. "At least I thought it would. I haven’t quite got the fine points down, like… when, or where… It just kinda kicks in whenever it wants to. But I wouldn't have met you two if it hadn't brought me here."

I laughed. From the corner of my eye, I saw Akari smiling a bit. That must be quite the unique shard he has.

"Ya know," Mickey added enthusiastically. "It might not be an accident. Maybe it starts workin' 'cause it's reactin' to somethin'."

"Huh?" The three of us expressed, seeing that the Star Shard started glowing brightly.

After that, we didn't see a deserted world. On the contrary, we saw a world filled with light.

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

I saw everything. How Vanitas brought my sister to this deserted world, how he hurt Ven, how he was defeated but quickly revived. Heck, I even saw when Ven and Akari left with a mouse, whose name, if I heard correctly, was Mickey.

I witnessed everything, just because I was told to stay behind this giant boulder. I couldn't refuse orders at this point. Especially not from Vanitas. I knew that I was not strong enough to confront him, and if I went against his orders, I would risk, not only my life, but also my friends' lives. Especially my sister's. That was a risk I was not willing to take.

A dark portal appeared and Vanitas came out of it. Ugh, he makes me sick. How can someone be so cruel? Well, at least he didn’t end Ven’s life. He looked like he really wanted to do it… Looks like it wasn’t his lucky day.

"Looks like someone's been good," he said, walking towards me. He grabbed me by the arm and stood me up.

"Like I had a choice," I said, coldly.

"Come now, don’t be like that," Vanitas said, grabbing my chin slightly. "I just wanted to test his patience."

"By using my sister as bait?" I said, brushing his hand off my chin. "That's low, very low."

I turned my back to him. "Why are you so heartless?"

Vanitas chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment." 

He then turned his back towards me and started to walk away. "But seriously, why do I even bother holding a conversation with an idiot like you? So annoying…”

“You know, it’s not that hard to say my name once in a while,” I said, turning to face his back.

“Not happening,” he said, stopping in his tracks. "Besides, calling you by your name is not going to make your treatment any better."

"Hey, at least I want some dignity," I stated.

"Is dignity really worth it for you right now?"

"Yes, egghead, it is," I said, rudely, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

"Feisty as ever, I see," Vanitas groaned in annoyance, turning towards me and coming closer. "And I'm not bald for you to be calling me that."

"Oh really? I thought you were covering a bald spot with that mask of yours,” I said, deciding to have some fun that won’t get me killed. Hopefully.

He reached towards me, grabbing my arms. "How about you shut up, you deranged airhead.”

"I'm not an airhead!"

"And I'm not bald!"

"Then why don't you take off that mask?"

"Cuz I don’t feel like it!" Saying this, Vanitas let go of my arms abruptly. "You better have a good reason for agitating me.”

"Just testing your patience," I said calmly.

I could feel the anger Vanitas had, as if his ears were letting off steam. I couldn't help but smirk. I might get punished by him, but it was SO worth it.

"Damn, and I thought I was going to deal with a feisty chick… Guess you’re more annoying than a parrot that doesn’t shut up."

"I'll take that as a compliment myself," I said, still smirking.

Vanitas stayed quiet. I felt he was eyeing me up and down. And he has a mask on so… How the heck did I even feel that?!

"Hmph, you know…" He started saying.

He sounded calm, almost as if he was questioning what he was about to say. That's a bit odd. He's usually mean and doesn't doubt what he says. And I've been his hostage for a couple of days! Or maybe... it's been a week? But still!

"I'm starting to like your attitude," Vanitas said. Why do I feel him smirking at his own comment?

And not only that. This guy… This weird-ass guy… Actually liked my attitude towards him? Is he for real?! I would have expected something else. But this? He's usually a pain in the butt! But now he's just cool with it? What the actual heck? Well, better enjoy it while it lasts!

"It's an honor," I said sarcastically, putting my hand on my chest and bowing slightly.

"Alright that's enough, you pesky brat," he said, before opening another dark portal.

Aw, so soon? And I thought he liked me. 

"We have somewhere to be," he continued. "And…"

Vanitas suddenly grabbed both of my shoulders and brought me close. He had his masked face close to my ear. "You better behave yourself, cuz the place we're going to involve all five of your friends. You don’t want anyone to get hurt, do you?"

"N-No thanks." I don't know if I stuttered because of fear or because I was flustered. It was just weird.

"Good," He said, backing off.

He turned his back to me and we both walked through the portal, leaving the deserted world. I didn't even try to pull anything suspicious. Too much is at stake… Especially where we're going.

End of Part 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm with Ezra's on this one... I'll never be able to trust Xehanort.  
> Can't stand him-_-
> 
> Anyways...
> 
> Part 1: Done!
> 
> Part 2 is up next! \\(^o^)/


End file.
